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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  blbliographiques 


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rrpt  Coloured  covers/ 
\y\\    Couverture  de  couleur 


r^    Covers  damaged/ 

I — I   Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


Couverture  endommag6e 

Covers  restored  and/or  lai 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pellicul6e 

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Le 


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D 
D 


D 


D 


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D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
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10X  14X  18X  22X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


26X 


aox 


K 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Bils 

du 

difier 

une 

lage 


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first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Impres- 
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The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fllmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprlmAe  sont  filmAs  en  commenqant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  termlnant  solt  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  emprelnte 
d'Impression  ou  d'illustration.  solt  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmto  en  commengant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  emprelnte 
d'Impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  termlnant  p'^r 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
emprelnte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signlfle  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  y  signifle  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fiimte  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  drolte, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iliustrent  la  mAthode. 


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32X 


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2 

3 

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4 

5 

6 

I^'l 


Trade  Unions: 


THEIR  ORIGIN   AND    OBJECTS,  INFLUENCE 

AND  EFFICACY.  M 

By  WILLIAM  TRANT,   M.  A.  m 

WITH   AN   APPENDIX   SHOWING  THE  jp 

il      History   and    Aims  '™ 


OP  THE 


American  Federation  of  Labor 


FOLLOWED  BY  A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  THE 


GROWTH,  BENEFITS,  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 


OF  THE 


M\m\  Hnd  InteMtionBl  Mb  Mm  of  Amete 


FOURTH  EDITION. 


PRICE, 


TEN  CENTS. 


Published  by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
Samuel  Gompers,  President,  171  E.  91ST  St.,  New  York  City. 

1888. 


Shoved  t&  £f  eiiatoa  Hace;  jmi^ov^. 


T^ 


Trade  Unions: 

THEIR    ORIGIN    AND    OBJECTS.    INFLUENCE    AND 

EFFICACY. 

/ 
By    WILIvIAM    TRANT,    M.  A, 

WITH   AN   AI'PKNDIX   SHOWING   THE 

History    and    Ainis. 


OF   THE 


AMERICAN  FEDERATION  OF  LABOR; 


FOULOWED   BY  A    BRIEF  SKETCH   OF  THE 


GROWTH,  BENEFITS,  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 


OF  THE 


NATIONAL  .^INTERNATIONAL  TRADE  UNIONS  OF  AMERICA 


FOURTH  EDITION. 


PRICE. 


'•• 


TEN  CENTS. 


Published  by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
SamObl  Gompers,  President,  171  East  91ST  Street,  New  York  City. 

1888. 


PRBFACE. 


To  the  officers  and  members  of  all  Trade  and  Labor 
Unions,  and  to  that  much  abused  but  serviceable  class  of 
Humanitarians— the  despised  "Labor  Agitators"— this  pamphlet 
is  respectfully  dedicated,  with  the  hope  that  a  perusal  of  its 
pages  may  make  the  subject  of  Trade  Unions  better  understood 
and  more  thoroughly  appreciated. 

The  five  opening  chapters  of  this  pamphlet  are  condensed 
from  the  prize  essay  on  "Trade  Unions,"  written  by  Mr.  Wm. 
Trant,  who  secured  for  it  the  ;^5o  prize  offered  a  few  years  ago 
by  the  Trade  Union  Congress  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  a  standard 
work,  prepared  after  considerable  research,  and  it  has  been  care- 
fully edited  to  suit  American  conditions. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor. 


This  pnmpblet  wiU  be  «old  to  Trade  Unions  and  Labor  Organizations  in  wholesale  lots,  at  the 
rate  of  Five  Dollan  for  one  hundred  copies,  exprengage  paid. 

AddKH,  8AMD£L  OOMTBitS,  171  Eaat  Ninetyflret  Street,  New  York  City. 


-U 


'——-■—  ■»'»fjj'^ 


Labor 
lass  of 
iniphlet 

of  its 
erstood 

densed 
,  Wm. 
irs  ago 
andard 
n  care- 

Labor. 

ale  lots,  at  the 
York  Citjr. 


TRADK    UNIONS. 

THEIR   ORIGIN   AND  OBJECTS,    INFLUENCE   AND 

EFFICACY. 

By  William  Trant. 


CHAPTER  I.— Historical  Sketch. 

**'''™  "  ™F"?"J';'P"*'°"-Tho  Domestlo  System-The  "  Capitalistic  Craftsman  "-The  WorkinK  Clam 
Tlie  First  Crisis— The  Statutes  of  Ijihorers— The  Black  Deatli-High  Wages,  Cheap  Food,  and 
Short  Hours— Combination-Ouilds— The  First  Union— Rise  of  the  Artispii— The  LollanU- An- 
tagonism of  the  Wc«lthy-The  I'easanta'  Uevolt-Oppresslon  of  the  Working  ClasseH-IH-lmse- 
ment  of  the  Coin— Conllscation  of  the  Guilds— (;oml>ination  l^ws-Tho  Poor  Ijxws-Continned 
I>ecllne  or  the  Workman— His  Miserable  Condition  in  the  Nineteenth  Century— Trade  Unions 
Their  Original  Rules— Combinations  of  Employers. 


Thosk  who  so  often  apeak  of  the  "  wel- 
fare of  the  State"  would  do  well  to  re- 
member that  the  phrase  haa  never  yet 
meant  the"  welfare  of  the  people."  The 
"good  old  times"  were  good  only  for  a 
small  portion  of  the  community,  and  al- 
though year  after  year  haa  shown  constant 
improvement,  yet  that  amelioration  has 
been  very  slow  and  lamentably  imperfect. 
Aristotle  says,  in  his  "Politics,"  that  the 
best  and  most  perfect  commonwealth  is  one 
which  provides  for  thw  happiness  of  all  its 
members.  The  fact  that  the  great  philoso- 
pher conceived  such  a  noble  sentiment  so 
long  ago  is  in  itaelf  remarkable ;  but  ad- 
miration for  his  wisdom  is  somewhat 
diminished  when  it  is  found  that,  "although 
artisans  and  trades  of  every  kind  are  neces- 
sary to  a  State,  they  are  not  parts  of  it," 
and  their  happiness,  therefore,  is  of  a  kind 
with  which  the  "best  and  most  perfect 
commonwealth"  has  no  concern  whatever. 

"The  same  law  mast  be  for  all  classes 
of  my  snbjectfl,"  said  Henry  II.,  but  la- 
borers were  not  considered  subjects.  So 
late  as  Elizabeth's  time  they  were  spoken 
of  (hy  Shakespeare)  as  "fragments." 
Even  the  Magna  Charta,  of  which  English- 
men are  so  justly  proud,  referred  but  to  a 
moiety  of  the  two  millions  of  persons  who 
inhabited  England  at  the  time  of  its  pro- 
mulgation. It  affected  freemen  alone,  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that  nearly  one-half  of 
the  entire  population  was  then  in  a  state 
of  slavery  so  abject  that,  in  the  language 
of  the  old  law-writers,  "the  villein*  knew 
not  in  the  evening  what  he  was  to  do  in 

•  "Villein  "  was  a  term  to  denote  the  serf  or 
worker  ii;  those  days. 


the  morning,  but  was  bonnd  to  do  what- 
ever he  was  commande<l. "  He  was  liable 
to  beating,  he  was  incapable  of  acquiring 
property  for  himself,  and  any  he  got  be- 
came his  master's ;  he  could  be  separated 
from  his  wife  and  children,  and  sold  to  an- 
other lord,  or  he  could  be  passed  with  the 
land  upon  which  he  lived,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  chattel  attached  to  it. 

Various  causes  noiselessly  and  gradually 
effaced  this  miserable  condition,  though  at 
a  very  slow  rate.  "Faint  traces  of  it," 
says  Lord  Macaulay,  "were  detected  by  the 
curious,  so  late  as  the  days  of  the  Stuarts  ; 
nor  has  that  institution  [villenage],  even  to 
this  hour,  been  abolished  by  statute." 
From  the  ea''''?;8t  times,  however,  serfdom 
in  England  ..n.;  within  it  the  germs  of  its 
own  destruction  The  lord  might  enfran- 
chise his  villeiit  or  the  latter  could  pur- 
chase his  freedom.  If,  too,  the  slave  es- 
caped to  some  town,  and  remained  there 
unclMmed  a  year  and  a  day,  he  became 
a  free  man.  There  were  also  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  proving  the  villenage,  the  onus 
of  which  proof  always  lay  with  the  lord, 
while  in  all  disputes  on  the  subject  the  pre- 
sumption of  law  was  in  favor  of  liberty. 

"Thus,"  writes  Creasy,  "while  at  the 
period  when  wo  first  ran  assert  the  common 
law  of  the  complete  English  nation  to  com- 
mence, we  find  this  species  of  slavery  so 
widely  established  in  this  country,  we  also 
find  the  law  for  it)  gradual  and  ultimately 
certain  extinction."  The  Church,  too,  dis- 
countenanced slavery.  Theodore  denied 
Christian  burial  to  the  kidnappers,  and 
prohibited  the  sale  of  children  hy  their 
parents  after  the  age  of  seven.  Violation 
of  the  prohibition  was  punished  with  excom- 


J 


^.f^""*' 


mnniratioii.  The  murder  «f  a  tiluve  by  Ihm 
owner,  iIuiukIi  do  crime  in  the  eye  of  the 
State,  iH-CHiiut  a  niii  tor  which  penance  wim 
exacieU  liy  the  Cliiirch.  The  Hiaves  attache*! 
to  t'iinrcli  jirojMJity  were  fieeil,  and  uianu- 
nilHHion  liec;inie  t'i'«'i|iient  in  willx,  as  the 
cier)!.Y  taught  thnt  Much  a  gift  waa  u  boon 
to  the  M>nl  (il°  tiie  dead. 

>Viiii  half  n  nation  in  ithivery  there 
rouhl  Ih!  no  "  worl<inK  c1u»a,"  an  the  term 
in  jtenerally  untlerxiiHMl.  Ihe  wealthy 
kept  itoniesiic  urtiHaim  nmongHt  their  ser- 
vantt<,  and  the  wantH  of  the  nohles  were 
almost  entirely  Rupplied  hy  their  retainers. 
The  vilU'inH  tilled  the  Hoil,  while  the  men 
in  towns  worked  on  what  is  now  called  the 
"domestic  system."  Tlie  factory  system 
and  the  capitalist  employer  were  not  yet 
known,  and  the  employers  of  labor  were 
those  who  ]>rovided  muterinls  which  they 
hired  men  to  work  into  the  articles  required. 
The  glitzier  glazed,  but  did  not  find  the 
glass ;  the  blacksmith  forged,  but  did  not 
find  the  iron.  There  was,  therefore,  very 
little  hiring  of  lalmrers.  "The  capitalist 
employer,"  says  I'rofe.ssor  Thorold  liogera 
in  "Si.\  Centuries  of  Labor  and  Wages," 
"the  Urst  middle  man,  is  entirely  un- 
known till  the  seventeenth  century  ;  and 
the  cu])italist  purchaser  of  raw  materials, 
the  second  middle  man,  is  later  still  in 
the  economy  of  society. 

At  a  very  early  date,  however,  craftamen 
became  the  chief  purchasers  of  the  materials 
on  which  they  worked,  and  the  "capitalist 
artisan  "  developed  considerably  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  The  London  tailors,  even 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  IIL,  were  the  great 
importers  of  woolen  cloths,  and  thtre  can 
be  no  donht  that  at  this  time  many  of  the 
craftsmen  traded  in  the  raw  material  which 
they  worked,  As,  however,  the  trades  be- 
came more  prosperous,  and  the  jxtor,  who 
flocked  to  the  towns,  more  numerous,  the 
traders  gradually  ceased  working  at  their 
craft,  and,  confining  themselves  to  trading, 
left  the  manual  lalwr  to  their  less  fortunate 
companions.  That  is  to  say,  a  class  of 
small  dealers  in  raw  material  sprang  into 
existence.  The  distinction  of  classes  be- 
came marked.  The  shoemaker  soon  learnt 
to  look  down  upon  the  cobbler,  and  the 
leather  merchant  to  despise  the  shoemaker. 

The  "full  history  ot  England  as  »  na- 
tion," it  is  agreed,  begins  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  II.,  and  it  is  thenabouts  that  we 
find  anything  like  a  working  class  gathering 
itself  together.  In  the  three  centuries 
which  immediately  succeeded  the  Norman 
Conquest,  the  commerce  of  England  was 
greatly  extended.  Foreign  commodities 
were  "introduced  in  abundance,  and  na- 
tive manufactui'es  established  and  im- 
proved." This  natnrally  attracted  to  the 
towns  such  ^erfs  as  wished  for  liberty, 
and  thus  we  find  springing  up  in  the  towns 
»  class  of  men  possessed  of  personal  free- 


dr)ni,  hut  dentitnle  « f  property  and  land. 
These  were  the  forerunners  «if  the  wage- 
working  class. 

'i'he  Statute  of  Lalmiers  (23  Eil .  III.,  c.  1) 
clearly  shows  the  existence  of  m  w»Ke-r»- 
cciving  class,  the  remuneration  l>eingbl>ont 
one  penny  a  day  in  additiim  to  food  ;  :nd 
when  it  is  remembere<l  that  the  sum  men- 
tioned was  Bulllcient  to  pun  hii»e  a  couple 
of  fowls  or  the  fifth  part  of  a  tihccp,  it  is 
evident  that  the  recipients  weie  well  dlf  M 
things  went.  Indeed,  the  statute  r<  fti  ltd 
to  was  passed  because,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  landholders,  the  wages  of  agricultural 
lalKtrers  had  become  "exctssive."  Here 
was,  in  fact,  the  first  "  crisis  "  on  n  cord 
between  employers  nnd  employed  in  I'liig- 
land.  The  dciM>pulatinn  (amounting,  it  is 
said,  to  one- third  of  the  nation)  whi(h  fol- 
lowed the  great  plague  of  134H,  the  ''I'lliick 
Death,"  caused  a  natural  rise  in  the  ]irice 
of  lalior.  Whole  villages  died  out ;  houties 
fell  in  ruins ;  entire  fim'ks  perished  fi)r 
want  of  herdsmen  ;  and  the  corn  crcp 
perished  for  wants  of  reapers.  The  «'l«-rgy 
even  raised  their  fees  for  masses  and  prtij  ers, 
becaase  fewer  persons  were  able  lo  afl'ortl 
snch  luxuries  ;  merchants  and  trndchmen 
took  advantage  of  the  small  supply  of  wares 
to  raise  their  prices  ;  and  in  like  manner 
the  workmen  endeavored  to  profit  by  the 
dearth  of  labor,  by  refusing  to  work  except 
at  enormous  prices.  The  wealthy  cliisn 
objected  to  all  this,  and  the  purpose  of  the 
Act  rcferre<l  to  was  to  fix  the  wages,  by  re- 
quiring all  laborers,  etc.,  toaccept  thesnme 
remuneration  as  had  been  customary  before 
the  plague.  Any  lord  of  the  manor  pny- 
ing  more  was  to  be  mulcted  in  treLle 
damages;  food  was  to  be  sold  at  reasonable 
prices;  and  alms  were  forbidden  to  able- 
bodied  lal)orers.  The  statute,  howevjT, 
seems  to  have  been  d  isregarded ;  and  two 
years  later  we  find  the  master  shearmen  of 
London  complaining  to  the  city  authorities 
that  they  could  not  get  men  at  the  snme 
wiiges  ma  formerly,  and  that  the  workmen 
also  refused  to  work  unless  they  were  paid 
by  the  piece. 

There  had,  indeed,  alrea<1y  been  some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  a  "strike,"  and  it 
was,  therefore,  ordered  that  any  lurther 
d  isputes  should  be  settled  liy  the  warden 
of  the  trade.  If  a  workman  did  not  sub- 
mit, he  was  to  he  pnnished  by  the  mayor 
and  aldermen.  All,  however,  was  of  no 
avail,  and  what  is  also  surprising  is  the 
obtusenees  that  could  for  a  moment  im* 
agine  the  Act  could  be  enforced.  The 
statute  had  to  be  enforced  by  the  Manor 
Conrt,  and  that  court  depended  for  eCS- 
ciency  upon  the  good  will  existing  between 
landlord  and  tenant;  and  where  statute 
prices  were  paid  the  difference  was  made 
up  in  some  other  way.  Professor  Rogers 
has  recently  brought  to  light  some  curious 
instances  of  evasions  of  the  Act,  by  the 


■WJI         t*.  • 


n 


erty  and  land, 
(if  tliu  WBge- 

31'>l.lll.,c.l) 
of  »  waKe-ro- 
ioiiliein((bli<iat 
n  to  food  ;  :'nd 
the  anni  nien- 
nliiue  a  coiiple 

'  U   bht'i'p,    it  18 

ire)e«fll(>|]'  as 
tatnte  nft'iud 
tlie  o])iiiii)n  of 
of  aKricuitnral 
tsoive."     J I  ere 
8ig"on  ruord 
ploj'fd  in  y.ug- 
imouutini;.  if  in 
ion)  Yihu  h  fol- 
MH,the  "liliuk 
Re  in  the  jirice 
(d  out ;  hdUtifs 
8  peiihhtd  A)r 
the  corn  crop 
rs.     The  oh-rjfy 
Ht'HflndpniycrH, 
I  able  to  afl'ord 
and  trndcMUfn 
supply  of  wares 
u  like  miinner 
)  profit  by  the 
to  ■work  exwpt 
wealthy   eliisn 
purpose  of  the 
ie  wages,  liy  rc- 
aocept  thetutnie 
istomary  be-fore 
,he  manor  pny- 
cted    in  tre),!e 
d  at  raiAoniiblo 
)idden  to  able- 
tute,    however, 
rded;  and  two 
er  ahearmen  of 
city  anthorilics 
n  at  the  emme 
-  the  ■workmen 
they  were  paid 

[ly  been  some- 
itrike,"  and  it 
it  any  lurther 
l)y  the  wartlen 
1  did  not  Rnb- 
by  the  mayor 
er,  ■was  of  no 
'prising  is  the 
k  moment  im> 
nforced.  The 
by  the  Manor 
;nded  for  eCS- 
isting  between 
where  statute 
ice  was  made 
}fee8or  Rogers 
t  some  cnrions 
I  Act,  by  the 


alteratiuuM  in  the  re<-ord  of  the  court  from 
ttau  priiw  actually  paid  tothuMtatuteiiriceH; 
alterationa  evidently  made  to  technically 
uoiirorm  to  the  law,  whilu  actually  evading 
it.  At  last  the  ])eaMUUtM  combined  to  resist 
the  law.  They  organize  themselves,  and 
they  Hiib:4cril>e  considerable  sums  of  money 
for  thti  defence  and  prote<'tion  of  serfs, 
which,  it  has  l)een  suggested,  may  huvein- 
cludt'd  the  payment  of  lines.  In  point  of 
fiict,  here  is  a  rudimentary  trade  union  to 
resi.stau  unjust  law  amt  to  secure  higher 
wauc.M.  A  similar  statute  to  the  one  al>ove 
quoted  was  poKsetl  in  1362,  when,  alter  a 
violent  tempest,  a  royal  order  was  issued 
that  the  materials  for  rooting  and  the  wages 
of  tilers  should  not  he  enhanced  by  reason 
of  tim  d.tmage  dune  by  the  storm.  An  ad- 
ditional statute,  with  a  similar  object,  was 
pa-ised  the  following  year. 

Prom  these  sources,  and  from  the  indus- 
trious researches  of  i'rofessor  Thorold 
Kogers,  we  learn  what  were  the  wages 
earned  at  the  period  l)efore  the  rise  set  in. 

It  will  be  sulliuient  to  say  here  that  they 
were  nut  satisfactory,  though  not  so  meagre 
as  has  been  geuerally  supposed.  TlioActs, 
however,  were  disregarded,  the  meu  refus- 
ing to  work  for  less  than  double  or  treble 
tlui  sums  prescribed  by  statute.  For  about 
a  <lo/cu  years  wages  continued  to  rise,  un- 
til iu  13U3  the  prosperity  of  the  peasantry 
w^M  so  gre^t  that  an  Act  (37  Eklward  III., 
<;.  M)  was  pawed  enjoiningcarters,  plongh- 
nien,  and  farm  servants  generally,  not  to 
eiitor  drink  "excessively,"  or  to  wear  any 
cloth  except  "blanket  and  russet  wool  of 
iwelvepence,"  while domesticservants were 
declared  to  be  entitled  to  only  one  meal  a 
day  of  flesh  and  tish,  and  were  to  content 
themselves  at  other  meals  with  "milk, 
butter,  cheese,  and  other  such  victuals."* 
The.te  restrictions  were  as  futile  as  those 
whic;h  preceded  them,  and  it  would  be 
foolish  to  weary  the  rea<ler  with  an  ac- 
count of  similar  legislation  effected  during 
the  succeeding  century,  in  spite  of  which, 
however,  wages  constantly  advanced  ;  and 
we  tind  an  Act  passed  in  the  reign  of 
liichai'd  II.  stating  that  laborers  would 
not  work  e.tcept  at  a  rate  "much  more 
thiin  hath  been  given  to  such  servants  and 
laborers  iu  any  time  past."  Indeed,  they 
weie  the  halcyon  days  of  the  British 
la'ioer.  He  was  much  better  off  then  than 
he  IS  now.  The  rise  in  the  wages  of  labor 
after  the  famine  of  Edward  Il.wasasmuch 
as  fi'.mi  twenty-three  i)er  cent,  to  thirty 
per  cent. ;  and  after  the  Black  Death  in  the 
following  reign  the  average  advance  was 
upwards  of  fil'ty  per  cent.  more.  '  The 
masons  succee<led  in  obtaining  uu  advance 
of  sixty  per  cent.,  the  reason  of  which  will 
b  >  given  immediately.     (Jreat,  too,  as  was 

*!<!  SootlAnd,  Rla  iiinuh  later  duto,  fMriii  lalxir- 
erx  >'■>  nplair.ed  thHt  tliey  lutU  to  eat  aaiuiou  more 
thaii  luurdays  a  week. 


the  rise  in  wages,  there  was  no  cwrrespond- 
ing  rise  in  the  price  of  provisiims.  r>ery- 
tliing  the  lulmrer  needed  was  as  cheap  as  it 
ever  IiimI  lieen,  his  laNir  was  rising  in  value 
week  by  week,  an<l  he  worked  only  eight 
hours  a  day.  Never  before  or  since  have 
the  workingmen  of  Kngland  l)een  so  well 
off  as  far  as  material  comforts  were  con- 
cerned, and  this  halcyon  periuil  lasted  un- 
til 13m). 

It  will  l)e  iieccsHary  further  on  to  trac« 
the  reasons  of  the  downward  tendency  that 
liegan  to  show  itself  in  that  year;  and  to 
show  how  it  was  that  laborers  who  ha<l  tte- 
come  mttsters  of  the  situation  were  again 
degnuled  to  the  level  of  serfs.  It  would 
l>e  interesting  to  inquire  whether  any 
"union"  or  "combination"  had  given  the 
men  strength  to  resist  the  injustice  which 
the  Actsjust  mentioned  inllict«d  upon  them 
bj  curbing  the  "aspiring  exertions  of  indus- 
try and  independency."  Materials  u|M)n 
which  to  found  a  decideil  opinion  are,  unfor- 
tunately, very  scarce.  One  thing,  however, 
is  certain.  The  people  of  England  luul  long 
l)een  familiar  with  the  principle  of  associa- 
tion for  trade  and  other  purposes.  Even  so 
early  as  the  time  of  Canute,  asHo<!iation8 
under  the  name  of  "guilds"  were  estab- 
lished fur  religious  purposes.  Similar 
brotherhoods  alterwarils  developed  into 
combinations  of  merchants  for  mutual  as- 
sistamwand  protection,  and  were  followed 
in  the  fourteenth L-entury  by  "craft-guilds," 
which,  as  their  name  implies,  ■v>'ere  unions 
of  handicraftsmen — the  principal  guild  be- 
ing that  of  the  weavers.  The  very  essence 
of  the  guilds  was  mutual  support,  mutual 
protection,  and  mutual  responsibility.  They 
were,  indeed,  the  first  friendly  societies. 
These  guilds  gradually  extended  their  influ- 
ence beyond  the  limitsof  particular  trades, 
and  ultimately  became  far  more  pow-erful 
than  the  municipal  corporations  of  the 
presentday.  The  notions  of  the  members 
of  the  guilds  were  of  a  very  exclusive  na- 
ture in  regard  to  theadmisfiontf  members. 
No  viltnn»  were  permitted  to  join  them, 
and  all  freeiueii  wliu  were  proposed  hud  to 
be  duly  elected. 

The  noblest  of  all  the  guilds  of  the 
Middle  Ages  was  undoubtedly  that  of  the 
masons.  This  brotherhood  ruse  from  the 
circumstances  in  which  the  travelling 
builders  of  the  Middle  Ages  found  them- 
selves placed.  "They  were  brought  to- 
gether from  distant  homes  to  lie  employed 
for  a  considerable  time  on  such  great  works 
ns  our  mediosval  churches  and  <«ithedrals. 
Near  the  rising  structure  on  which  they 
were  engage<t  it  was  neot'ssary  that  they 
should  provide  for  themt<elves  a  common 
shed  or  tabernacle."  This  was  the  origi- 
nal masons'  "lodge."  l^tbre all  things  it 
was  necessary  that  masons  bhouid  lie  "  free 
and  accepted."  The  entrance  into  this 
guild,  as  indeed  into  all  others,  waj,  in  ao- 


\ 


J 


■r 


«*»- 


6 


<V)n1nn«<'  with  tlie  fpirit  of  »1m»  liinen.  Mir- 
roiiiiilfd  h\  iii^'Hif riuiin  ritfHiinil  ceii-iiiiinieK, 
nnil  nil  mucIi  mM'ii'ticH  IdkI  their  pi't'iilmr 
lore  nnd  triulitiotiH.  Their  orixiniil  intfii- 
tioim  huv<>  loiiK  lip)  li«-eii  ilmrt'gitnli'd.  All 
thttt  rciiiHiim  of  th«  iiiiu-tiiiH'  Kiiilil  Ih  tli« 
now  ('aHhioiiu))li>  older  of  "  Fic«>ninNonH, " 
Hiul  of  the  otlu'iH  tlie  rich  livery  ('oiii|iiinieM 
uf  London  mid  the  guildH  ol  elM'where, 
who  now  H))eiid  their  dying  nionientN,  iih 
they  iiiaii>{iiiiiU'd  their  exixteneu  centuiieM 
ago,  nt  dinner* 

'Ihe  eJnliiHivenpuHof  the  gnilds  natnmlly 
fw>]innit('d  Htill  more  the  incipient  working 
ehicH  Ironi  their  well-to-do  Bniieriorn,  and 
t«nded  more  and  more  to  give  the  work- 
men separate  viewn  and  intereHts,  which 
were  not  infre<|nently  untagoniHtie  to  thot<e 
of  the  employer  or  "miiNter."  Wlientwoor 
three  are  gathered  with  identical  int^restH 
(and  thofie  inttTents  op]K)tM-d  to  the  wiNbes 
of  their  eniployere,  who  are  already  com- 
bine<)),  it  seeraH  ho  natural  lor  them  to  form 
a  coml>ination  of  aoroe  Mirt  or  other  that  it 
if)  inipoHHible  to  reniBt  the  belief  that  in  the 
fourteenth  century  the  working  man — ex- 
cluded from  the  guild — would  unite  with 
his  fellows,  if  not  for  general,  yet  for  apeci- 
fic  ohjeetfl  in  connection  with  his  condition. 
It  iH  gratifying  to  learn  that  this  view  in 
taken  by  bo  high  an  authority  as  Dr.  Lujo 
Brentano,whoali<o  pointH  out  that,  at  about 
the  time  referred  to,  accounts  of  "ntrikea 
in  the  building  trade  are  particularly  nu- 
merona;"  and  there  is  in  exiHtence  a 
"royal  mandate  as  to  the  workmen  who 
have  withdrawn  from  the  palace  of  West- 
minHter. "  Indeed,  it  is  beyond  dispute 
that  the  masons  of  the  fourteenth  century 
maintained  a  higher  rat«  of  wages  than 
was  paid  to  other  crafts,  as  has  b^n  above 
mentioned,  solely  on  account  of  the  combi- 
nation these  artisans  were  able  to  effect ; 
a  fiict  that  non-  nnionietB  of  to  day  would 
do  well  to  remember. 

This  view  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  in  1383  the  authorities  of  the  city  of 
London  issued  a  proclamation  forbidding 
all  "congregations,  covins,  and  conspiracies 
of  workmen  ;"  and  four  years  later  three 
shoemakers  were  carried  off  to  Newgate 
for  violating  it ;  while  in  1396  a  similar 
coalition  of  saddlers  was  suppressed.  Two 
laws  also  were  enacted  against  combina- 
tions, congregations,  and  chapters  of  work- 
men (which  hod  been  established  to  limit 
the  number  of  working  hoars),  viz.,  the  34 
Edward  IV.,  c.  »,  and  3  Henry  VI.,  c.  1. 
The  punishments  inflicted  npon  working 
men  for  combining  were  very  severe,  and 
yet  they  combined  in  epite  of  such  punish- 
ments. The  endeavors  of  the  laborers  to 
raise  wages  showed  themselves  most  promi- 

•  It  to  (frattfvinff  to  find  that  now  nnme  of  the 
livery  roinpimleHnre  HevoUnK  a  portion  of  their 
funds  to  uoeful  piiposeH.  such  as  the  promotion  of 
teahnical  education,  etc. 


iiently  in  ii.e  tratles  in  which,  on  in  the 
cloili  niiinuliM'tiirer.'4,  ilevelo|)iiient  waa 
iiiiwt  rapidly  )iri)^'resHing,  and  in  which 
tlicrt*  exiMird  it  large  working  cIiim*. 

The  iir«H|ierify  of  the  liiliorcrM  nnd  arti- 
wniN  prodiircd  events  that  uliirnied  the 
privilege*!  cIiiskck.  The  enmiici|iatii>ii  of 
the  serlM  hml  lor  Nome  time  ]>aMl  ))r<H'ceded 
very  ra])idly,  Irom  cuuses  which  hiiMi  Iw-en 
nirendy  iiidicat^^l.  I'rofeswir  Thcirold 
KogeiM,  niter  an  ennrnuius  amount  of  re< 
warch,  writemif  the  lourteeiitli  century, "In 
the  many  thoiiNnnds  of  bailiffs  nnd  manor 
rolls  which  I  have  rend,  I  have  never  met 
with  a  Hingle  in.stnnce  of  the  sale  of  a 
serf,  nor  have  I  dincovered  any  lalMir  rent 
for  which  un  equitable  money  pnvment 
could  not  IwHubstilnted."  Indeed,  during 
the  reign  of  K<lward  II.,  the  practice  be- 
came general  of  nccepting  money  compen- 
sation in  lien  of  labor  rents;  nnd  nt  the 
end  of  a  r|narter  of  a  century  the  rule  had 
become  almost  universal.  The  improve- 
ment in  the  condition  of  the  serfs  created 
an  amount  of  independence  among  them 
that  had  the  happiest  results. 

Sir  Kobert  Kale,  Captain-General  of  Nor- 
wich in  1381,  was  the  son  of  a  villein,  was 
born  a  serf,  as  was  also  Cirost^te,  the  great 
Oxford  scholar  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
thus  showing  that  even  in  those  davs  serfs 
could  rise  to  very  high  positions.  There  is 
abundant  evidence,  too,  that  they  became 
possessed  of  property,  and  indeed,  as  they 
became  enfranchised,  they  also  became 
copyholders.  It  is  certain  they  paid  rent, 
which  indicates  a  real  bargain  between  the 
lord  and  the  serf  which  the  former  could 
not  break  if  the  other  Fatisfie<1  his  dues ; 
and  he  could  recover  wages  due  to  him 
from  his  lordly  employer  by  distraint  npon 
his  goods,  even  upon  his  chattels,  and 
therefore  could  not  be  a  chattel  himself. 
The  impetus  given  to  this  process  by  the 
general  rise  after  the  Black  Death  was 
brief,  and  that  plague,  in  short,  emanci- 
pated almost  the  whole  of  the  surviving 
serfs. 

It  was,  therefore,  amongst  a  profiperons 
and  independent  class  that  Wiklif 's  "Poor 
Priests,"  or  Lollards,  followed  by  John 
Ball,  al»o  a  priest,  preached  doctrines  that 
in  those  days  were  revolutionary  doctrines, 
and,  in  the  eyes  of  some  people,  are  so 
still.  From  village  to  village  the  old 
couplet  was  repeated  : 

"When  Adam  delved  nnd  Eve  apan, 
Who  was  then  the  gentleman?" 

The  people  were  taught  that  those  who 
labored,  did  so  not  only  for  themselves,  but 
to  enable  others  to  live  without  labor,  or  to 
live  by  mistrhievous  labor.  The  "equality" 
expounded  in  the  Bible  was  explained  to 
them,  and  generally  it  was  impressed  upon 
them  that  they  were  oppressed  by  a  priv- 
ileged class  whom  accident,  fraud,  or  force 
had  placed  in  a  superior  social  sphere. 


tan 


m 


h,  n^   in   the 
ipiiient     WM 
nd   ill    which 
climtt. 
rem  iind  iirti- 

ikliirnicd  tlie 
lUK'ipatioii  of 
iiHl  priHi't'ilert 
ell  hiivo  IxM-n 
iMil'  'I'luiriilil 
mount  «>!'  re- 
ictntnry/'ln 
I'h  nnd  manor 
ve  ni'VJT  met 
the  8Ale  of  8 
ay  la)M)r  rent 
ney  imvnient 
ideed,  diirinK 
!  practire  !«•- 
)ney  «'<ini|>fn- 
;  and  itt  th» 
the  rule  hnd 
rhe  innnove- 

serCu  created 
amoDg  tbem 

neral  of  Nor- 
»  vill«in,  fras 
6te,  the  great 
nth  century, 
oee  days  serfs 
ns.  Th»re  is 
they  became 
3eed,  as  they 
also  became 
ley  paid  rent, 
1  between  the 
former  could 
ed  bis  dues; 
I  dne  to  him 
iiHtraint  upon 
ihattels,  and 
tttel  himself, 
rocess  l>y  the 
:  Death  waa 
lort,  enianci- 
;he  surviving 

a  profiperons 
iklif's  "Poor 
fed  l)y  John 
loctrines  that 
iry  doctrines, 
sople,  are  so 
age    thu    old 

ve  span, 
in?" 

at  those  who 
smselves,  but 
t  labor,  or  to 
B  "equality" 
explained  to 
pressed  upon 
d  by  a  priv- 
and,  or  force 
sphere. 


The  men  were  not  starving,  and  had  time 
toliHten  and  to  think,  and,  utKive  nil  things, 
to  combine.  And  they  did  combine.  They 
niilMcribed  money ;  they  flhielde<l  the  eHcai>ed 
serf  from  the  |iursuit  of  his  lord  ;  the  iterf 
and  the  free  joinnl  in  a  common  cause, 
and  waited  but  the  itignal  to  "strike" 
agninHt  their  enemies.  The  sign  was  at 
length  given,  and  the  result  was,  on  the 
10th  of  June,  i:W!,  the  I'easants'  K»ivolt, 
or  Wilt  Tyler's  i{el)ellion.  This  was  a 
rising  cauHe<l,  not  by  the  outnigeon  Tyler's 
daughter,  or  even  the  |h)II  ta.x,  but  by  the 
general  attempts  by  the  upper  classes  to 
force  down  the  wages  of  the  laborers  of 
England,  and  to  ttike  from  them  the  rights 
they  hitd  won,  though  of  courMe  other 
grievances  would  not  l>e  forgotten.  In  all 
riflings  for  a  particular  object,  the  oppor- 
tnuity  is  seized  of  making  many  demands. 
For  the  particulars  of  that  revolt  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  history  of  the  period. 
The  rebellion  nearly  succeeded,  b'^t  ttie 
laborers  were  ci^oled  into  quietude. 

Prom  this  time  forward  for  three  centu- 
ries the  history  of  the  laboring  class  is  » 
sad  story.  The  governing  powers  never  for- 
gave the  Lollards,  nor  those  who  listened 
to  them.  They  seized  every  opportunity 
of  crashing  the  people,  and  it  is  only  re- 
cently that  policy  has  been  departed  from. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  from  this 
time  to  1824,  in  the  words  of  the  author 
already  quoted,  "a  conspiracy  concocted  by 
the  law,  and  carried  out  by  parties  inter- 
ested in  itfl  su'-cess,  was  entered  into  to 
cheat  the  English  workman  of  his  wages, 
to  tie  him  to  the  soil,  to  deprive  him  of 
age,  and  to  degrade  him  into  irreparable 
poverty."  The  first  of  these  repressive 
measures  was  the  debasement  of  the  coin 
by  Henry  VIII.  and  the  guardians  of  lid- 
word  VI.  The  nefarious  transactions  by 
which  this  was  brought  about  had  for  their 
object  the  replenishment  of  the  royal 
cofiiars  out  of  the  earnings  of  the  artisans 
and  laborers,  and  they  succeeded  in  that 
object.  Tlie  peasantry  were  already  im- 
poverished by  the  action  of  the  land- 
owners in  substituting  sheep-fanning  for 
agriculture,  and  the  new  state  of  affairs 
oppressed  them  with  great  severity. 

The  purchasing  power  of  the  revenue 
fell  to  one-third  of  ita  original  capacity, 
and  the  consequent  rise  in  prices  was  one 
and  a  half.  In  other  words,  if  wages  rose 
from  Ctd.  to  9(1.  a  day,  the  laborers  bad  to 
pay  38.  for  meat,  2k.  5d.  for  bread,  and  Us. 
6d.  for  batter  and  cheese,  where  he  bad 
paid  In.  before.  This,  it  is  obvious,  put 
back  the  laborer  into  a  position  of  penury 
to  which  he  had  not  beeu  accustomed,  and 
to  which  be  did  not  readily  submit.  His 
condition  was  ngain  almost  that  of  the 
serf.  From  childhood  to  old  age  all  wer. 
labor.  Eight  honra  no  longer  constituted 
a  day's  work.  His  miserable  coudit '.on  waa 


rendered  worse  by  the  diNsolntion  of  the 
tuoniisUries  tlmt  wcompanied  the  debase- 
ment of  the  coin.  A  great  part  of  the  vast 
lands  of  the  monasteries  was  devoted  to 
the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  to  their  uosiat- 
ancn  in  many  ways.  When  this  waa  with- 
drawn, no  substitute  was  provided  in  its 
place.  These  transactions  were  followed 
by  the  con  liscation  of  the  property  of  the 
guilds.  1  have  deacrilHsl  them  us  the  flret 
Friendly  .Societies.  Thegnilds  Rssisted  the 
artisan  in  times  of  difficnlly,  allowed  him 
loans  without  interest,  and  granted  benefits 
to  his  widow.  The  effect  of  the  confisca- 
tion of  the  guilds  was  the  same  as  would 
result  fiom  tue  confiscation  of  the  fnnds  of 
the  Friendly  fiodeties;  and  it  is  worth 
noting,  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  strong 
onion,  that  only  the  provincial  guilds  wtre 
molest4>d,  those  in  London  l)eing  so  power- 
ful that  the  Crown  dared  not  inoleet  them. 

The  working  men  reeisted  these  opprrs- 
aions,  and  vigorous  measures  were  paesfd 
to  force  them  into  snbmiMion.  An  Act 
was  passed  in  the  reign  of  Edwaid  VI., 
which  shows  pretty  plainly  what  was 
thought  in  those  days  of  the  "working 
claeses."  If  a  man  refused  to  work  at 
statute  prices,  he  was  branded  with  the 
letter  V  (vagabond),  and  reduced  to  slavery 
for  two  years.  If  he  attempted  to  escape 
from  that  condition,  he  was  branded  with 
3,  and  became  a  slave  for  life  ;  and  if  he 
objected  to  that  state,  he  was  hanged.  It 
ia  also  evident  that  tne  spirit  of  combina- 
tion was  growing  amongst  the  laborers  and 
artisans,  for  the  laws  against  workmen's 
combinations  were  made  still  moreatrin- 
gent  than  hitherto.  The  preamble  of  2d 
and  3d  Edward  VI.,  cap.  16  (A.D.  1646), 
set  forth  that  "artificers,  handicraftsmen, 
and  laborers  had  made  confederociea  and 
promises,  and  have  sworn  mntnal  oaths, 
not  only  that  they  shonld  not  n;eddle  with 
one  another's  work,  and  perform  and  finish 
what  another  hath  began,  bnt  also  to  con- 
stitate  and  appoint  bow  much  Ihey  aball 
do  in  a  day,  and  what  boors  and  timea 
they  shall  work,  contrary  to  the  laws  and 
statotes  of  this  realm,  and  to  the  great  im- 
poverishment of  his  M^esty's  subjects." 
Anyone  convicted  for  the  third  time  of 
having  joined  snch  a  combination  hnd  his 
ear  cut  off,  and  altogether  the  ponishmenta 
were  very  severe. 

It  may  be  gathered,  then,  that  the  prin- 
ciple of  combination  amongst  the  work- 
people was  rapidly  progressing,  and  wai 
met  onder  the  Todors  and  Btoarts  in  a 
spirit  which,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  ia  not 
wholly  extinct  at  the  present  day,  as  recent 
eventa  have  shown. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  this  state  of  af- 
fairs should  have  impres-sed  the  thinking 
minds  of  the  period ;  and  that  the  causes 
and  remedies  should  be  considered.  States- 
men and  persons  of  influence  began  to  ac- 


knowledge  the  j  ustice  of  the  demands  of  the 
v'orkpeople.     In  Sir  Thomas  More's  Utopia 
the  great  Btatestiiun  advocates  almost  all 
the  reforms  that  have  taken  place  since  his 
day,  and  many  that  have  not  yet  been  ac- 
complished.    Indeed,   as  Mr.  J.  It.  Green 
jioints  out,  "  In  liis  treatment  of  the  ques- 
tion of  labor  he  still  remains  far  in  advance 
of  carrent  opinion      The  whole  system  of 
societyaround  him  seemed  to  him  'nothing 
but  a  conspiracy  of  the  rich  against  the 
IKtor.'     Its  economic  legislation  was  simply 
t  he  carrying  out  of  such  a  conspiracy  by 
process  of  law.    The  rich  are  ever  striving 
to  pare  away  something  further  from  the 
daily  wages  of  the  poor  by  private  fraud, 
and  even  by  public  law,  so  that  the  wrong 
«lreadyexisting(for  it  is  a  wrong  that  those 
from  whom  the  State  derives  most  benefit 
should  receive  least  reward)  is  made  yet 
greater  by  means  of  the  law  of  the  State. 
"The  rich  devise  every  means  by  which 
they  may  in  the  I'rst  place  secure  to  them- 
selves what  they  have  amassed  by  wrong, 
nnd  then  take  to  their  ow»  nse  and  profit  at 
t  he  lowest  possible  price  ..he  work  and  labor 
of  the  poor  ' '    The  resui  t  was  the  wretched 
existence    to  which  the   labor  class  was 
doomed —  "a  life  so  wretched  that  even  a 
beast's  life  seems  enviable."    More  then 
gives  his  remedies.     The  end  of  labor  laws, 
he  says,  should  be  the  welfare  of  the  laborer. 
Labor  should  be  compulsory  with  all.    Un- 
less a  man  work,  neither  shall  he  eat.  Even 
in  those  days,  151G,  More  demanded  that 
the  period  of  toil  should  be  shortened  to 
nine  hours,  with  a  view  to  the  intellectual 
improvement  of  the  worker:  there  miust  be 
also,  he  pleaded,  "a  public  system  of  edu- 
cation," comfortable  homes  for  the  people, 
complete  toleration  and  equality  of  all  re- 
ligions, and  much  more  in  the  same  strain. 
I  do  not  suppose  that  any  book  that  was 
ever  written  hasdane  so  much  for  the  work- 
ing classes  as  the  Utopia,  written  by  the 
proposer  of  the  nine  hours  system  more 
than  three  hundred  years  ago.  The  general 
progress  of  civilization,  even,  had  its  draw- 
backs as  regards  the  humbler  classes.    Tlie 
general  diffusion  of  the  art  of  printing,  the 
great  geographical  discoveries  effected  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  general  ac- 
tivity which  prevailed  throughout  £iux>pe 
immediately  after  the  Reformation,  gave  a 
great  stimulus  to  trade  and  commerce,  the 
effects  of  which  were  long  felt.     This,  of 
coarse,  had  a  beneficial  influence.     It  had, 
however,  some  drawbacks.     Amongst  them 
may  be  mentioned  that  in  the  seventeenth 
century  the  practice  of  setting  children  pre- 
maturely to  work  prevailed  to  a  very  large 
extent.    At  Norwich,  the  chief  Beat  of  the 
clothing  trade,  children  began  to  work  at 
six  years  old,  and  earned  not  the  "insig- 
nificant trifle"  which  was  paid  to  the  little 
sufferers  forty  years  ago,  but  very  much 
more  than  was  necessary  for  their  own  sus- 


tenance. In  the  opposition  which  was 
shown  at  the  time  to  this  inhumanity  is  to 
I  be  discerned  the  dawn  of  the  Factory  Acts, 
I  and  of  the  opposition  which  was  subse- 
'lur-nwlj'  offered  by  Trade  Unions  to  the 
overworking  of  youths  and  children. 

I  must  mention  another  kind  of  legisla- 
tion that  emphasized  the  evils  already  in- 
dicated. A  state  of  affairs  had  been  pro- 
duced which  created  a  cliss  who  required 
not  only  work,  but  food,  and  it  was  sought 
to  remedy  the  evil  by  the  enactment  of 
poor  laws.  I  must  refer  the  reader  else- 
where for  an  account  of  statutes  whose 
chief  result  was  the  manufacture  of  pau- 
pers, and  whose  only  effect  could  be  to  make 
the  poor,  poorer.  It  will  be  suflScient  to 
say  here  that  the  Justices  in  quarter  ses- 
sions had  the  power  to  fix  wagc8,  a  poiverth&t 
continued  under  legal  sanction  till  1812. 
Naturally  they  were  fixed  at  the  lowest 
possible  figure,  the  Justices  knowing  full 
well  that  any  deficiency  would  be  paid  out 
of  the  poor  rates,  to  which  all  occupiers — 
that  is,  the  country  at  large — would  be 
obliged  to  contribute.  There  could  be 
but  one  result  from  this.  Wages  would 
continually  fall,  and  the  amount  of  poor 
relief  as  continually  rise.  Asaconsetiuence, 
the  time  would  ultimately  arrive  when  it 
would  require  the  whole  of  the  rent  from 
land  in  order  to  relieve  the  poor.  Indeed, 
that  condition  was  being  approached  and 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  reached  but 
for  the  discovery  of  steam  power  and 
machine  weaving,  which,  as  will  appear 
later  on,  created  a  great  demand  for  labor 
and  raised  wages. 

In  spite  of  all  these  difficulties,  however, 
the  men  continued  to  combine,  and  the  le- 
gislature to  pass  laws  against  combination. 
The  revolution  of  1688  gave  no  liberties  to 
the  artisans  and  the  peasants.  In  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries  it  was  oi^ 
dained  that  "journeymen  should  make  no 
unlawful  assemblies,  brotherhoods,  congre- 
gations, and  flockings  together. "  The  Act 
of  2  and  3  Ed.  VI.,  c.  15  (ate  ante,  p.  7) 
was  confirmed  by  22-23  Charles  II.,  and 
remained  in  force  nntil  repealed  by  6  Geo. 
IV.,  c.  129.  The  stringent  laws,  too,  to 
which  workingmen  were  subjected  after 
the  Restoration,  rendered  their  position 
far  from  comfortable  or  just.  As  if  the 
statutes  were  not  sufliciently  rigorous,  the 
construction  of  the  existing  laws,tbe  offence 
of  conspiracy,  originally  referring  to  combi- 
nations for  the  purpose  of  procuring  false 
evidence,  or  of  committing  some  crime,  was 
extended  to  associations  of  workmen  whose 
purpose  was  to  raise  wages.  Even  so  lato 
as  the  end  of  the  last  century  the  farm  la- 
borer had  no  right  to  sell  his  labor  in  the 
be^t  market,  but  was  compelled  to  work 
for  any  employer  in  his  parish  who  chose 
to  demand  his  services  at  a  price  flxed  by 
statute.  It  was  not  until  1795  that  a  work* 


j-jwww" 


^ 


■■^■'^WWiJgi:        - 


§ 


^ 


)n  which  was 
humanity  is  to 
e  Factory  Acts, 
Ich  was  subae- 
Uniona  to  the 
children, 
iud  of  legislft- 
rils  already  in- 
had  been  pro- 
who  required 
1  it  was  sought 

euaetmeut  of 
e  reader  elae- 
itatntes  wliose 
icture  of  pau- 
ild  be  to  make 
e  BufiScient  to 
a  quarter  sea- 
ls, a  powerthat 
tion  till  1812. 
at  the  lowest 
knowing  full 
Id  be  paid  out 
ill  occupiers — 
ate — would  be 
ere    could  be 
Wages  would 
louct  of  poor 
tconsetxuenee, 
irrive  when  it 
rhe  rent  from 
oor.     Indeed, 
preached  and 
n  reached  but 
I   power  and 

will  appear 
land  for  labor 

ties,  however, 
e,  and  the  le- 
combination. 
lo  liberties  to 
In  the  six- 
ries  ij  was  or- 
mld  make  no 
loods,  congre- 
r."  The  Act 
!e  ante,  p.  7) 
arlesll.,  and 
[ed  by  6  Geo. 
laws,  too,  to 
bjected  after 
tieir  position 
;.  As  if  the 
rigorous,  the 
vs,the  offence 
ingtocorabi- 
ocuring  false 
ne  crime,  waa 
rkmen  whose 
Even  so  lato 
the  farm  lo- 
labor  in  the 
lied  to  work 
sb  who  chose 
trice  fixed  by 
that  a  work- 


man could  legally  travel  in  search  of  em- 
ployment out  of  his  own  parish.  In  1545 
the  City  of  London  complained  that  the 
importation  of  foreign  manufactures  was 
ruining  the  country,  and  demanded  low 
wages  as  a  remedy.  In  1680  there  was,  as 
there  is  now,  the  cry  that  if  we  paid  our  ar- 
tisans high  wages  we  should  be  unable  to 
compete  with  loreign  countries.  In  that 
year  Mr.  John  Bassett,  the  member  for 
Barnstaple,  remarked  that  it  was  impos- 
sible fur  our  textures  to  maintain  a  compe- 
tition with  the  produce  of  the  Indian  looms. 

'  'An  English  mechanic, ' '  hesaid, ' '  instead 
of  slaving  like  a  native  of  Bengal  for  a  piece 
of  copper,  exacted  a  shilling  a  day."  Al- 
though this  amount  is  equivalent  to  only 
about  one-half  of  the  present  rate  of  wages, 
there  were  even  then,  as  indeed  there  al- 
ways have  been,  attempts  to  reduce  the 
amount;  and  there  is  ample  evidence  that 
so  long  ago  as  when  the  above  words  were 
spoken  there  wjis  "  the  vehement  and  bitter 
cry  of  labor  against  capital. "  "  For  so  mis- 
erable a  recompense, ' '  wrote  Lord  Macaulay 
on  the  aforesaid  one  shilling  a  day,  "were 
the  producers  of  wealth  compelled  to  toil, 
rising  early  and  lying  down  late,  while  thn 
master  clothier,  eating,  sleeping,  and  id- 
ling, became  rich  by  their  exertions. " 

From  the  earliest  times  until  the  present 
day,  then,  employers  have  endeavored  to 
pay  their  men  as  little  as  possible  for  as 
many  hours'  work  as  they  could  possibly 
get  out  of  them.  In  this  task  the  masters 
have  ever  been  assisted  by  a  Parliament  of 
sympathizing  friends — a  Parliament  which 
has  always  yielded  reluctantly  to  any  mea- 
sure calculated  to  improve  the  masses,  but 
has  greedily  acrepted  any  proposal  to  bene- 
fit the  few  at  the  cost  of  many  ;  and  al- 
though the  onward  and  upward  march  of 
civilization  has  rendered  such  conduct  less 
easy  in  the  present  day,  yet  still  there  is 
the  old  tendency  to  legislate  as  though  the 
capitalist  were  entitled  to  all  the  plums 
and  the  laborer  to  all  the  kicks. 

The  numerous  attempts  to  fix  wages  by 
Act  of  Parliament  were  nearly  all  failures. 
The  assessment  of  weavers'  wages  by  the 
Justices  had  fallen  into  disuse  betbre  1720. 
In  that  year  the  Justices  reasserted  the  au- 
thority they  possessed,  and  fixed  wi^es,  but 
tlieir  injunctions  were  disregarded.  So  late 
ns  17(J8  an  Act  was  passed  compelling  the 
London  tailors  to  work  from  G  a.m.  to  7  p.m., 
with  an  interval  of  one  hour  only  for  re- 
fre.sbments.  The  same  Act  also  fixed  the 
wages  of  the  clothworker  at  'ia.  Id.  a  day. 
Either  master  or  servant  was  liable  to  im- 
prisonment for  two  months  for  violating 
these  rules;  and  a  master  was  further  liable 
to  a  fine  of  £500  if  he  employed  workmen 
who  lived  more  than  five  miles  from  Lon- 
don. In  1795  the  Berkshire  magistrates  at 
Speenhamland  declared  that  wages  should 
rise  or  iall  with  the  price  of  bread,  and 


themselves  fixet!  the  rates.  Numerous  Acts 
were  passed  about  this  time  regulating,  or 
rather  interfering  with,  the  most  minute 
details  of  manufacturing  industry.  To 
stimulate  the  Macclesfield  trade  it  was  en- 
acted that  no  "buttons  or  button-holes 
made  of  cloth,  serge,  drugget,  frieze,  cam- 
let, or  any  other  stnfis,  should  be  made, 
set,  or  bound  on  clothes,  or  worn  ;"  and  the 
bare  enumeration  of  similar  legislation 
would  occupy  more  space  than  is  at  present 
at  disposal.  The  attempts  to  keep  wages 
down  were  supported  by  statesmen  who 
ought  to  have  known  better.  Pitt,  Fox, 
and  Whitbread  distinctly  asserted  the  un- 
just and  pernicious  doctrine  that  a  laborer's 
remuneration  should  be  proportioned,  not 
to  his  services,  but  to  his  wants,  and  in 
1796  the  magistrates  in  Berkshire  attempted 
to  "settle  the  incomes  of  the  industrious 
poor. ' '  The  liberty  of  operatives  was  still 
further  restricted  at  the  clote  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  by  an  Act  of  Parliament 
which  declared  to  be  illegal,  all  contracts, 
except  between  masters  and  men,  for  ob- 
taining advances  of  wages,  altering  the 
usual  time  of  working,  decreasing  the 
quantity  of  work. 

It  is  difiScult  to  conceive,  in  the  face  of 
all  this,  how  the  condition  of  the  working- 
man  has  improved  in  the  slightest  degree. 
Indeed, it  has  not  increased  proportionally. 
He  has  certainly  been  enveloped,  so  to 
speak,  in  the  general  progress  of  affairs  ■, 
he  has  doubtless  shared  somewhat  in  the 
national  prosperity;  but  whatever  improve- 
ment has  taken  place  in  the  condition  of 
the  working  classes,  does  not  all  correspond 
with  the  improvement  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  middle  and  upper  classes.  In 
regard  to  the  agricultural  laborer  the  case 
is  very  bad.  In  1740  a  Suffolk  laborer 
could  buy  for  5s.,  what  in  1801  cost  him 
26s.  5d.  As  Professor  Rogers  says,  "  For 
five  centuries  and  a  half,  for^Tteen,  sixteen 
generations,  there  was  no  appreciable  al- 
teration in  the  condition  of  the  people." 
It  remained  stationary,  where  it  did  not 
deteriorate,  from  Henry  III.  to  George  III. 
The  condition  to  day  of  the  laborer  in  the 
agricultural  districts  of  England,  and  the 
instances  which  are  reported  of  the  conduct 
of  the  employed,  speak  of  misery  and  op- 
pression worthy  of  the  Tudors  and  the 
Stuarts.  Down  to  1779  the  condition  of 
the  miners  in  Scotland  was  lit«rally  one  of 
serfdom.  They  were  obliged  to  remain  in 
the  pit  as  long  as  the  owner  chose  to  keep 
them  there,  and  they  were  actually  sold  as 
part  of  the  capital  invested  in  the  work. 
If  they  took  work  elsewhere,  iheir  master 
could  always  have  them  ff  tched  back  and 
flogged  OS  thieves  for  having  robbed  him  of 
their  labor.  It  is  no  wonder  that  in  1745 
the  magistrates  of  Lanca^ihire  were  alarmed 
at  the  symptoms  of  combination  and  disaf- 
fection, and  once   again  resorted  to   an 


.-«iP 


10 


attempt  to  fix  'wngesin  spite  of  past  experi- 
ences. 

It  were  tediona  to  mention  the  various 
everts  which  have  ruffled  tlie  career  of  the 
laborer  during  the  hist  century.  It  is  often 
stated  that  wages  had  gradually  risen  and 
food  had  cheapened.     This,  however,  is  a 
mistake.     From  1800  until  after  the  repeal 
of  the  Com  Laws  the  state  of  the  laborer 
seems  never  to  have  been  in  its  natural 
cond  i  tion.     During  that  period  wages  were 
never  high,  and  at  times  the  distress  was 
very  ^reat.     England  was  then  (1810-1812) 
in  anything  but  an  enviable  position.     On 
tbe  Continent  the  hand  of  every  nation  was 
against  her,  and  her  hand  was  against  eveiy 
nation.     She  was  at  war  with  all  the  em- 
pires she  had  not  subsidized  in  the  Old 
World,  and  her  arms  were  struggling  with 
her  own  offspring  in  the  New  World,  as 
well  as  fighting  a  war  of  oppression  in  the 
Indies.     The.se  wars,   which   lasted   for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  spread  misery  like  a 
pall  over  the  land.     Trade  was  paralyzed  ; 
foreign  ports,  both  in  Europe  and  America, 
were  closetl  to  us,  and  by  a  pig-headed  pol- 
icy* our  ports  were  closed  to  them.     There 
was  not  work  for  anybody,   and  nearly 
everybody,  therefore,  was  starving.  Just  at 
this  time  an  event  took  place  which,  al- 
though a  great  ble-ssing,  and  known  to  be 
so  at  the  time  by  fivr-sighted  men,  was  not 
unaccompanied  by  those  disasters  which 
generally  accompany  great  changes.  While 
nearly  all  men  were  out  of  work,  capital- 
ists began  to  introduce  into  the  manufac- 
turing   districts    labor-saving    muchines, 
which  dispensed  with  seven  out  of  every 
eight  handworkers.  This  was  the  last  straw. 
The  men  were  in  no  hamor  for  reasoning 
on  the  principles  of  political  economy. 
They  were  starving  ;  and  to  their  eyes  the 
new  machinery  cut  otT  every  chance  of 
their  ever  working  again.     They  formed 
the  strongest  and  most  secret  combination 
ever  known  in  this  country.     Their  object 
was  to  destroy  the  new  machines,  and  for 
three  yeara  the  havoe  they  committed,  es- 
pecially   in    Yorkshire,    Lancashire,   Hiid 
Nottinghamshire,  was  immense.     It  was 
not  until  enormous  powers  were  granted 
to  the  military,  the  magistracy,  and  the 
police,  that  the  conspiracy  was  brought  to 
an  end  by  the  execution  of  thirty  of  the 
ringleaders,  t 
Such  was  the  miserable  condition  of  the 


•  The  notorious  "  Orders  iu  Council." 

t  The  "LudditeEisinK."  an  the  disHflTection  has 
been  called,  was  inteusifled  by  the  fact  that, 
whereas  tl>e  operatives  were  starviug,  tlio  capi- 
talists were  hoarding.  Mr.  J.  It.  Green  savs: 
"The  war  enriched  the  landowner,  the  capitalist, 
the  manufacturer,  the  farmer;  but  it  inipover- 
ishetl  the  poor.  It  is,  indeed,  from  the  fatal  years 
which  lie  between  the  Peace  of  Amiens  Biid 
>\  aterloo  that  we  must  date  that  war  of  ola».-es, 
that  social  Keveraiice  between  rich  and  poor.  Iw 
tween  employers  and  employed,  which  otillfurms 
the  great  difficulty  of  Ekiglibh  iioIiUcji," 


laborers,  and  their  meagre  powere  of  com- 
bination, at  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth 
Century.  Everywhere  the  combination 
laws  were  in  full  force  ;  tbe  truck  system 
was  almost  universally  establisheti,  and 
still  further,  to  make  the  workman  de'pend- 
ent,  he  was  paid  at  long  intervals ;  and  any 
advances  kindly  made  to  him  by  a  gener- 
ous employer  were  charged  for  at  the  rate 
of  200  per  cent,  per  annum.  Add  to  these 
the  tact  that  the  men  were  kept  at  work 
sixteen  hours  out  of  every  twenty-four.and 
it  will  be  no  matter  of  surprise  that  they 
were  driven  to  defy  the  cruel  and  nnju.st 
laws  which  oppressed  them,  and  to  curry 
out  their  object,  not  only  in  the  most  na- 
tural of  all  ways,  but  by  the  means  with 
which  they  were  most  familiar,  namely, 
by  combination. 

The  progress  of  industry  at  last  rendered 
this  imperative.  The  application  of  steam 
power  to  the  processes  of  manufacture,  fol- 
lowed by  the  inventions  of  Arkwright, 
Crompton,  Ilargreaves,  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  others,  had  almost 
annihilated  the  domestic  system  of  mauu- 
factaring.  Hitherto  weaving  had  been 
carried  on  in  private  houses  and  in  sheds 
adjoining  them,  as  is  still  the  case  in  some 
parts  of  Yorkshire,  as,  for  instance,  the  vil- 
lages about  Huddersfield  and  Leeds.  Ap- 
prentices lived  with  their  masters  as  part 
of  the  family.*  It  was  a  common  occur- 
rence tor  the  apprentice  to  marry  his  mas- 
ter's daughter,  and  enter  into  partnership 
with  her  lather.  With  the  improvement  of 
machinery,  however,  when  several  looms 
were  worked  hy  one  engine,  the  domestic 
system  was  supplanted  by  the  factory  sys- 
tem. The  rapid  production  of  new  ma- 
chines ruined  the  trade  of  the  hand  loom 
weaver.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
introduction  of  machinery  was  at  fint  ex- 
tremely injurious  to  thote  whose  means  of 
living  were  afiected — as,  indeed,  every  im- 
provement in  machinery  must  injure  those 
who  are  only  able  to  keep  iu  the  old  groove. 
By  the  invention  of  machinery  the  public, 
who  paid  less  for  their  goods.and  the  man- 
ufacturers who  produced  more  cloth  for 
the  same,  or  a  less  ontlny,were  the  gainers. 
The  old  weavers  were  the  only  losers,  t 

I  have  said  the  men  resorted  to  the  means, 
with  which  they  were  most  familiar,  viz., 
combination.  Their  experiences  on  this 
point  have  already  been  sketched,  but  now 
a  new  departure  was  niatle.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  last  century  the  principle  of  the 
guilds  had  extended  itself  beyond  the  mid- 
dle clas«,  aud  had  reached  the  working 

•  In  1806  there  were  above  100  such  apprentices 
in  Armley.  n  inanufacturinur  villaso  of  between 
4,UK)  and  b.OUO  inhabitants. 

t  This  has  always  been  the  case.  The  objec- 
tions in  1730  to  the  "  new-fangled  machine  "  (for 
winnowiug)  introduced  into  Scotland  are  well 
kuowu, 


'-  M 


'WiwaWi^if"!'" 


v^nmm^t'3'  >»» 


^M' 


powereof  com- 
the  uineteeuth 
le  combination 
le  truck  system 
established,  and 
orkmande'peud- 
tervala ;  and  uny 
him  by  a  geuer- 
l  I'or  at  thti  riit« 
I.  Add  to  these 
re  kept  at  work 
bwenty-four.and 
prise  that  they 
rnel  and  nnjiist 
n,  and  to  curry 
a  the  most  na- 
tbe  means  with 
miliar,  namely, 

at  last  rendered 
ication  of  steam 
Anafacture,  tbl- 
of  Arkwright, 
ihe  close  of  tlie 
lers,  had  almost 
rstem  of  maun- 
'ing  had  been 
)es  and  in  sheds 
he  case  in  some 
nstance,  thevil- 
nd  Leeds.  Ap- 
iiasters  aa  part 
common  orcnr- 
marry  his  mas- 
ito  partnership 
improvement  of 

several  looms 
le,  the  domeKtic 
the  factory  sys- 
on  of  new  ma- 

the  hand  loom 
doubt  that  the 
was  at  first  ex- 
vhose  means  of 
deed,  every  im- 
ust  injure  those 
the  oid  groove, 
lery  the  public, 
i8,and  the  man- 
more  cloth  for 
ere  the  gainers, 
nly  losers,  t 
td  tothemeanS' 
;  familiar,  viz., 
■iences  on  this 
itched,  but  now 

In  the  begin- 
rinciple  of  the 
eyond  the  mid- 
1  the  working 

such  apprentices 
llage  of  between 


case.  The  objeo' 
<1  machine"  (for 
Gotland  are  well 


classes.  More  correctly  speaking,  the  ca- 
pitalists hiul  withdrawn,  and  leit  the  men 
to  organize  and  to  promote  their  combina- 
tion and  organization.  In  170;{  the  Watch- 
makers' Society  and  the  Norman  Society 
were  estaltUshed  in  London  npon  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  present  friendly  societies;  and, 
with  others  nearly  as  old,  are  still  in  exist- 
ence. The  example  thus  stt  was  followed 
by  the  rapid  promotion  of  similar  societies. 
Such  aiisociatious,  however,  were  illegal, 
and  their  meetings  were  obliged  to  be  held 
privately.  The  "Friendly  Society  of  Iron 
Fonndeis,"  which  began  in  1810,  used  to 
meet  on  dark  nights  on  the  peaty  wastes 
and  moors  on  the  highlandsof  the  Midland 
counties,  and  the  archives  of  the  society 
were  buried  in  the  peat.  These  societies 
have  now  ramifications  all  over  the  empire, 
and  in  England  and  Wales  alone  have  funds 
amounting  to  upwards  of  £150,000. 

It  was  customary  at  the  beginning  of 
thia  century  for  men  from  various  factories 
*o  'Zieet  at  taverns  to  pay  their  instalments 
L:<to  the  fViendly  society,  the  benefit  fund, 
or  the  burial  club.  At  such  gatherings  the 
new  ptate  of  affairs — as  being  the  subject 
nearest  every  workman's  heart — naturally 
became  the  common  topic  of  conversation. 
Every  phase  of  the  question  was  thoroughly 
discussed,  and  the  conduct  of  the  several 
employers  waa  freely  criticized.  The  op- 
eratives naturally  inquired  why  the  hardest 
,  work  and  the  least  pay  generally  went  to- 
gether. They  saw  that  everything  around 
them  was  improving  except  their  own  con- 
dition, and  this  appeared  to  be  deteriorat- 
ing. At  length  some  few  who  worked 
tinder  a  specially  severe  taskmaster  would 
naturally  rebel.  They  would  agree  or  com- 
bine to  resist  the  injustice  and  oppression 
tmder  which  they  suffered.  Their  friends 
would  not  only  sympathize  with  them, 
but,  knowing  not  how  soon  they  might  be 
placed  in  a  similar  position,  would  help 
them  in  their  fight,  and  thus,  what  was  at 
first  merely  a  chat  over  a  glass  of  beer, 
soon  became  a  trade  onion.  ' '  Men , ' '  says 
Mr.  W.  T.  Thornton,  "  are  seldom  collected 
together  in  large  masses  without  speedily 
discoveriii;.^  that  nnioniastrength,  and  men 
whose  daily  uv  ^cations  obliged  them  to  be 
constantly  using,  andbyusetobeconstantly 
sharpening,  their  wits,  vore  not  likely 
to  be  backward  in  making  thia  discovery." 
The  origin  of  the  trade  unions  accounts 
for  a  great  many  of  their  peculiar  features. 
Ab  combining  was  illegal,  the  unions  dis- 
guised themselves  as  friendly  societies.  In 
framing  the  rules  the  founders  naturally 
looked  at  such  models  as  they  were  already 
possessed  of;  and,  as  wiser  men  have  done, 
they  selected  much  that  waa  bad  as  well 
as  much  that  waa  good.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  those  rules  at  presentin  existence 
in  trade  unions,  which  give  so  much  oflfence 
to  employers,  are  all  actual  copies  of  the 


rules  of  the  ancient  guilds,  or  reproduct  ions 
of  the  provisions  of  ancient  statutes.  The 
workingmen  invented  no  absurdities.  It 
cannot  t)e  too  often  borne  in  mind  that 
trade  unionn  are  as  miU'li  a  natural  devel- 
opment as  is  the  British  Constitution  it- 
self, and  it  is  as  foolish  to  expect  immediate 
perfection  in  the  one  as  finality  iu  the 
amendments  already  effected  in  the  other. 
The  history  of  the  world  teaches  us  that  so 
universal  is  frailty  that  it  is  not  until  every 
variety  of  error  baa  been  passed  through 
and  exhausted  that  things  at  last  settle  in- 
to the  right  course. 

The  workingmen,  therefore,  cannot  be 
blamed  for  not  discovering  that  some  of 
the  rules  they  adopted  were  hardly  couhist- 
ent  with  the  general  progress  of  opinion, 
and  it  is  greatly  to  their  credit  that  experi- 
ence has  taught  them  better.  The  foolish 
rulea  are  never  introduced  into  new  socie- 
ties, and  they  are  beinggradnallyexpuni.'ed 
from  the  rules  of  the  old  ones.  This  must 
necessarily  be  a  work  of  time,  becaufic  sev- 
eral of  the  old  rules  have  at  first  sight  an 
appearance  of  justice,  and  certainly  contain 
within  themselves  much  that  would  natn- 
rally  commend  itself  to  the  workmen.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  rules  relating  to  appren- 
tices, in  those  trades  to  which  no  appren- 
ticeship is  needed.  The  rule  limiting  the 
number  of  apprentices  is  not  only  charac- 
teristic of  almost  all  the  guilds  and  of 
some  of  the  statutes,*  but  was  copied  by 
the  Inns  of  Court  and  the  Universities,  and 
is,  moreover,  one  that  would  especially 
commend  itself  before  the  introduction  of 
machinery.  In  the  first  place,  there  waa, 
and  is,  the  desire  to  limit  the  number  ot 
competitors  aa  UiUch  aa  possible.  With  a 
market  sufficiently  well  stocked  with  work, 
men,  each  new  arrival  would  be  regarded 
with  great  jealousy.  Nor  is  there  anything 
wrong  in  the  notion  of  restricting  the  pup- 
ply  of  laborers.  The  point  where  evil  may 
creep  in  is  found  in  the  means  taken  Uy 
bring  about  auch  restrictions.  A  great  au- 
thority like  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill  urged  upon  the 
workingmen  the  necessity  of  re.-tricting 
their  numbers  as  a  meana  of  increasing 
their  wagea.  The  plan  he  recommended 
waa  the  "prudential  check"  of  Malthus. 

What,  however,  seems  easy  and  roseate  to 
the  philosopher  often  appears  difficult,  if 
not  impracticable,  to  the  ordinary  mortal ; 
and  the  last  generation  of  British  workmen 
took  such  atepa  aa  instantly  occurred  to 
tlu'm,  or  were  suggested  to  them,  and  the 
results  of  which  were  actually  before  their 
eyes.  Each  man  would  say  to  himself, 
"The  lesa  number  of  workers  in  my  trade 
the  better  it  is  for  me. "  It  requires  a  high 
state  of  development  to  perceive  the  various 
and  intricate  ways  in  which  the  laws  of 

•  6  Eliz.,  c.  4 ;  5  and  6  Ed.  VI.,  o.  22;  1  James  I.; 
c  0. 


J 


13 


production  nuil  distribution  work  so  oh  to 
hnit\i,  altout  tlie  greatent  haiipiiiesti  to  the 
greateHt  nuinl)er.  Another  ]>oint  which, 
would  uuturuily  occur  to  the  workman 
would  \te  thiitAu  taught  the  apprentice  and 
received  no  reuiunerution.  All  the  trouble 
and  wui'k  of  training  the  youth  were  left  to 
the  iirtiHtiu,  nnd  when  the  pupil  wa»  per- 
fect he  ut  ouce  competed  with  his  teacher. 
I>(irin^  the  whole  of  the  seven  years'  op- 
preiiticeship  the  master  received  the  l)ene- 
tiu  of  the  youth's  extra  labor,  and  of  the 
premium  that  was  Nometimes  paid  with 
him,  while  the  man  who  had  borne  the 
hejit  and  burden  of  the  day  received  no  ad- 
vantage whatever.  The  rule  limiting  the 
uumbier  of  apprenti<«.s,  then,  was  very  at- 
tractive to  tlie  foundera  of  trade  unions. 
The  impruvenients  in  machinery,  however, 
ttru  rapidly  depriving  the  system  of  its  util- 
ity. It  may  have  required  a  long  appren- 
ticeship Ijefore  a  man  could  weave  ;  it  re- 
quire-i  little  to  "mind  a  loom  ;''  and  there- 
fore that  rule  of  the  trade  unions,  which  is 
so  often  (|aoted  by  employers  as  exhibiting 
the  arbitrary  principle  of  the  unions,  bad  a 
natural  birth,  is  dying  a  natural  death, 
and  will  ere  long  be  decently  buried  and 
duly  forgotten. 

The  tra4le  unions  copied  several  other 
ancient  provisions,  such  as  the  rules  against 
.syst'-matic  overtime.  The  guilds  also  for- 
biule  a  memlier  to  work  with  a  non-mem- 
ber. No  member  was  to  instruct  another, 
uud  "no  person  of  the  mystery  was  to  hire 
him.self  to  u  person  of  another  mystery 
where  greater  wages  were  offered . "  "  liat- 
tening"  (exa<;tly  similar  to  the  Sheffield 
systtmi,  with  the  exception  that  in  the  old 
times  it  was  legal,  and  now  it  is  not)  was 
practised  ugainst  those  persons  who  neglec- 
ted to  pay  their  subscriptions.  The  guilds 
had  also  their  "black  lists,"  and  the  word 
"donation,"  now  applied  to  the  money 
giveu  to  men  "on  tramp,"  ia  a  translation 
of  "Geo-chenk,"  the  word  given  by  the  old 
German  guilds  to  the  workmen  who  were 
similarly  tramping.  These  and  other  rules 
were  copied  into  the  ctides  of  the  new 
unions.  They  are  rapidly  becoming  obso- 
lete, and  are  not  enforced  at  all  in  the  iron 
industries.  In  these  industries  no  fixed 
period  of  service  is  imposed  on  apprentices, 
nor  is  their  numl>er  limited.  The  union 
men  do  not  refuse  to  work  with  non-union 
men,  and  "rattening"  is  not  allowed. 

From  this  it  is  seen  that,  in  the  natural 
onler  of  things,  the  early  tntde  union- 
ists selecteti  rules  which  they  now  ignore. 
They  also  showed  at  times  more  of  the 
bigotry  and  niirrow-miudedness  of  a  by- 
gone age  tlian  one  likes  to  see  now.  There 
have  been  intoleranta  in  every  creed, 
and  it  would  be  strange  if  trade  unions  had 
furnifhed  an  exception.  Even  the  most 
partial  inquirer  would  fail  to  detect  any 
more  intolefahce  in  trade  unionism  than  can 


l)e  found  in  the  society  which  was  presided 
over  by  the  Dukeof  Cumberland— or,indeed, 
iu  any  other  combination.  It  would,  how- 
ever, not  have  been  surprising  if  intoler- 
ance had  reached  its  culminating  point  in 
trade  unions.  The  wonder  is,  not  that  there 
has  been  so  much  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  men,  but  that  there  has  been  so  little. 
Oppression  breeds  intolerance.  Th«  men 
knew  that  it  was  illegal  to  combine,  and 
having  therefore  to  conspire,  they  came  to 
regard  both  their  maaters  and  the  laws  as 
their  natural  enemies,  against  whom  they 
would  have  to  wage  a  war  prolonged,  if  not 
everlasting.  "Consciousness,"  says  "Thorn- 
ton, "of  >>eing  singled  out  as  victims  by  a 
partial  and  ini<(uitou8  law,  directed  exclu- 
sively againstthemselves,  naturally  excited 
in  tbem  both  general  prejudice  against  aU 
law,  and  special  rancor  against  those  in 
whose  behalf  the  specially  obnoxious  law 
had  been  enacted."  Created  by  strikes  and 
nurtured  by  oppression,  unions  long  re- 
tained their  warlike  spirit,  a  characteristic 
which  now  happily  is  passing  away. 

It  remains  to  add  that  combinations 
began,  not  amongst  the  workmen,  but 
amongst  the  masters.  The  employed  merely 
followed  the  example  of  their  employers. 
It  was,  and  still  is,  the  practice  of  large 
capitalists  to  combine  to  keep  down  the 
price  of  labor,  instead  of  competing  with 
each  other,  and  so  raising  wages  to  their 
"legitimate  rate,"  as  it  is  railed.  Until 
lately  the  combination  of  the  masters  baa 
been  directed  to  a  great  extent  against  poor, 
ignorant,  and  disunited  men,  and  on  that 
account  the  capitalists  have  generally  been 
successful.  This  state  of  things  is  now 
changed. 

It  IS  been,  then,  that  trade  unions  were 
not  improvised.  They  are  not  sudden  and 
impulsive  combinations,  carelessly  formed 
to  be  hastily  abandoned.  They  are  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  natural  laws.  Work- 
men soon  perceived  that  all  the  extra  profits 
arising  from  appn>ved  appliances  went 
iuto  the  pocketa  of  the  capitalists,  and 
that  a  great  deal  of  additional  misery  and 
Buffering  was  imposed  upon  themselves. 
They  saw  that  the  hardest  fare  and  the 
most  work  always  accompanied  each  other, 
and  there  were  complaints  loud  and  deep. 
Indeed,  trade  unions  have  always  been 
"forced"  into  existence  by  the  oppression 
of  the  masters  ;  and  when  attempts  have 
been  made  by  tlio  men  to  establish  a  union 
in  the  absence  of  presisure  from  above,  they 
have  always  failed.*  At  this  distance  of 
time  we  can  now  clearly  see  that  the  em- 
ployers of  Nottingham  nius";  I  e  blamed  for 
the  fact  that,  in  181*.},  half  the  population  of 
th»-ir  town  lived  upon  public  relief.  To 
durtroy  a  loom  was  punishable  with  death, 


*Tho  flrst  attempt  of  the  Ijondnn  tnilora  and 
thutoftliu  pudillurs  iii  181  j  too  ctkoea  iu  polut. 


lich  was  presided 
rland— or,  indeed, 
It  would,  how- 
rising  if  intoler- 
linating  point  in 
is,  not  that  there 
ig  on  the  part  of 
08  ))een  so  little, 
ance.  Th«i  men 
to  combine,  and 
re,  they  came  to 
and  the  laws  as 
linst  whom  they 
prolonged,  if  not 
88,"  saysThorn- 
•  as  victims  by  a 

directed  exclu- 
laturally  excited 
idice  against  all 
gainst  those  in 
r  obnoxious  law 
d  by  strikes  and 
anions  long  re- 

a  characteristic 
ng  away, 
tt  combinations 

workmen,  but 
mployed  merely 
heir  employers, 
iractice  of  large 
keep  down  the 
[competing  with 

wages  to  their 
1  called.  Until' 
;he  masters  has 
lut  against  poor, 
en,  and  on  that 
I  generally  been 

things  is  now 

le  unions  were 
not  sudden  and 
iielessly  formed 

They  are  the 
al  laws.  Work- 
the  extra  profits 
)pliances  went 
capitalists,  and 
nal  misery  and 
on  themselves. 
b  fiire  and  the 
lied  each  other, 
luud  and  deep. 
i  always  been 
the  oppression 

attempts  have 
tablish  a  union 
om  above,  they 
his  distance  of 
)  that  the  em- 
"ile  blamed  for 
ieix)]>ulationof 
ilio  relief.  To 
ble  with  death, 

ndnn  tailors  and 
used  iu  pulut. 


ii»i  l'"V  vf 


m. 


and  it  was  then  that  numerous  associations 
of  woptmen  sprang  into  existence.  These 
associations  developed  into  tinde  unions  as 
soon  as  the  law  permitted  them  to  do  so.  It 
can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  indictment, 
fifty-seven  yard.s  long,  charging  some  me- 
chanics, in  1840,  with  conspiring  to  get  up  a 
strike,  and  with  some  '-thousands"  of  mis- 
demeanors, wa«  the  beginning  of  the  now 
large  association  known  as  the  Amalga- 
mated Society  of  Engineers,  and  if  its 
success  was  at  all  doubtful,  the  conduct  of 
the  Messrs.  I'latt  in  1852  established  its 
basis  on  a  ro<'k.  *    It  was  the  violation  of 


*  "  After  a  lock-out  of  four  monthg.  and  the 
expenditure  of  the  whole  of  the  acvumulnted 
funds  of  the  AmalKamatcd  8oclety,  the  em- 
ployers opened  their  works  again,  and  the  men 
went  back  on  the  old  terms.  Had  the  AuialKa- 
mated  Society  broken  up,  a«  was  confldently  ex- 
pected at  the  time,  the  labor  movement  miisht 
have  been  thrown  back  a  quarter  of  a  century 


13  George  IV,,  cap.  68,  by  the  masters,  in 
favor  of  themselves  and  against  the  inter- 
ests of  the  men,  which  led  the  Spitaltield 
weavers  to  Ibrm  their  at-sociation.  The 
oppression  of  the  miners  led  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  union  iu  18H1  ;  while  the  cloth- 
workers,  the  hatters,  calico  printers,  the 
Scotch  bakers  (who  in  1840  were  little  bet- 
ter than  hlaves),  and  all  the  new  as  well  as 
the  old  societies,  have  been  forced  into  ex- 
istence by  the  injiistice  of  the  employers. 
"  I  am  no  lover  of  trade  unions,"  says  the 
Bishop  of  Manchester,  "but  they  have 
been  forced  upon  the  working  classes  )>y 
the  inequitable  useof  the  power  of  capital. ' ' 


.  .  .  as  it  was,  the  defeat  proved  Ijetter  than  a 
victors-.  It  was  the  turninK-point  In  the  history 
of  the  Amalttamated  Society,  which  rapidly  re- 
covered its  looses,  and  at  I  he  end  of  two  years 
was  BtrouBer  than  over."  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes, 
in  Tht  Century  for  May,  1884. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TRADE   UNIONS— THEIR   PROGRESS  AND   DEVELOPMENT. 

Attemuts  to  crush  unionism-Hornby  r.  Close-rornVjination  made  legal-First  conference  .,f  union 
*2uiaU^Tho  Sheffield  outrages-The  Koyal  Commi88ion-Une«,ual  law»-Picketing-Th« 
Trade  Union  Acts. 

poses  alone.  The  statute  which  gave  this 
power,  however,  was  anything  but  satis- 
factory. The  word  of  the  mr«ter  was 
always  to  be  taken  in  preference  to  hat  of 
the  servant ;  the  judges  decided  that  all 
combinations  which  were  "in  restraint  of 
trade"  were  criminal ;  and  the  Queen's 
Bench  in  1867  confirmed  the  decision  of 
the  magistrates  (vide  Hornby  v.  Close),  that 
societies  having  rules  enabling  them  so  to 
act,  could  hold  no  property,  not  even  for 
benevolent  and  charitable  purposes.  This 
decision  had  reference  to  boiler-makers 
and  iron  ship-bailders,  and  created  a  great 
sensation.  More  than  one  London  news- 
paper declared  a  belief  and  expressed  a 
hope  that  by  it  unionism  had  received 
its    death    blow.     The    trade    unionists, 


The  events  whose  history  has  been 
sketched  in  the  previous  chapter  show  that 
combinations  amongst  workmen  have  ex- 
isted from  a  remote  period,  as  well  as  indi- 
cate the  origin  of  tradu  unions.  It  was 
necessary  thus  to  trace  the  historical  con- 
tinuity of  thesteps  that  led  to  the  formation 
of  unions,  else  their  actual  objects  would 
not  be  clearly  defined  ;  the  difficulties  en- 
countered and  overcome  not  sufficiently 
appreciated  ;  the  basis  on  which  unions  rest 
not  thoroughly  understood,  and  the  future 
of  such  institutions  not  readily  realized. 

"  We  watch  the  wheels  of  Nature's  mazy  plan. 
And  learn  the  future  bota  the  past  of  man." 

When,  however,  the  existence  of  unions 
Isecame  a  fact,  their  succeeding  career  was 
by  no  means  smooth.  Every  concession 
had  to  be  wrung  from  the  legislature  by 
the  severest  struggles,  and  there  was  always 
a  readiness  shown  to  hamper  or  destroy 
them. 

The  power  with  which  it  was  thought 
unionism  could  be  crushed  was  very  slowly 
withdrawn.  It  was  not  until  1824  that 
combinations  of  working  men  were  rendered 
legal  for  *'  improving  wages  and  reducing 
the  hours  of  labor  "  and  for  these  two  pur- 


too,  were  naturally  alarmed;  but  they 
were  not  prepared  to  see  destroyed  an 
institution  which  had  been  builded  up 
with  so  much  trouble,  and  in  the  face  of  so 
many  difficulties.  A  conference  of  trade 
union  delegates  was  convened  'by  the 
"  Working  Men's  Association,"  and  met  in 
St.  Martin's  Hall,  on  March  5,  6, 7,  8, 1867, 
to  consider  the  matter,  as  well  aa  the  Royal 
Commission  to  inquire  into  the  trade  uniono 
that  the  Government  of  the  day  bad  just 


i 
I. 


14 


appointed.*  No  auch  conference  had  ever 
lieeu  lield  1)etore.  Theie  were  pretieut 
delegateH  from  uixty-iive  London  societiev, 
twelve  provincial  trade  councils,  and 
■tweiity-tive  ptovinciul  trade  societieH.  This 
conference  waa  the  forerunner  of  the  trade 
uniunH  congress  that  is  now  such  a  prom- 
inent annual  public  event.  The  delegates 
were  unanimous  in  calling  for  an  immediate 
alteration  of  the  law,  and  so  determined 
was  their  OHiwct  that  they  refused  to  accept 
as  a  compromise  the  measure  introductd 
into  the  House  of  Commons  by  Mr.  Neale, 
M.  P.,  for  Oxford,  having  for  its  object  a 
temporary  protection  to  certain  of  the 
societies.  On  the  other  hand,  a  resolution 
was  passed,  a  bill  was  drafted,  und  a  peti- 
tion a<lopted,  which  I  here  reproduce.  Ke- 
solvetl — 

"  That,  takinginto  consideration  the  late 
decision  of  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  in 
reference  to  trade  unions,  depriving  them 
of  all  legal  recognition,  and  of  protection 
for  their  funds ;  further,  taking  into  con- 
sideration   the    benevolent    purposes    for 
which  the  bulk  of  such  funds  aresubscrihed, 
this  meeting  of  trade  delegates  is  of  opinion 
that  it  is  the  bouuden  duty  of  the  legisla- 
ture to  enact  such  laws  as  will  protect  their  \ 
funds,  and  thereby  place  the  members  of  { 
tho.se  societies  on  the  same  footing  in  respect  ' 
to  their  funds  as  all  other  classes  of  her  j 
Majesty's  subjects ;  and  also  bearing  in  ' 
miud  the  fact  that  the  working  of  these 
trade  unions  are  to  be  inquired  into  by  a 
Koyal  Commission,  and  that  legislation  in 
respect  to  them  may  hereafter  take  place, 
we  consider  that  a  bill  ot  the  following 
nature  will  answer  that  purpose  : — 

BILL. 

"Whereas  combinations  or  associations 
of  the  operative  classes  for  the  protection 
of  their  trade  interests  are  recognized  by 
law  ;  and  whereas  it  appears  that  no  ade- 
quate security  is  by  law  provided  for  the 
safety  of  the  funds  collected  by  such  asso- 
ciations ;  be  it  therefore  enacted,  etc.,  etc. 

' '  Tliat  the  same  protection  shall  be  given 
to  all  members  of  such  combinations  or 
associations  of  the  operative  classes  in  re- 
spect to  the  funds  collected  for  the  purposes 
of  the  protection  of  their  trade  interests  as 
are  afforded  to  the  members  ef  Friendly 
Societies  by  the  Friendly  Societies  Act ; 
and  shall  be  recoverable  from  defaulters 
in  the  same  way  and  manner  as  is  pro- 
Tideil  for  in  the  said  Friendly  Societies' 
Act;  and  that  their  protection  in  re- 
spect to    such  funds    shall    be    effectual 

^~ — — ^ ^^__.-.^_ 

*Theobject  of  thecommlsBion  v/aa  "to inquire 
into  tlie  organization  and  rules  of  trade  unions 
and  other  associations,  whether  of  workmen  or 
employers,  and  into  the  clfeot  produued  by  such 
unions  and  associations  on  the  workmen  and 
employers  respectively,  and  the  relation  between 
workmen  and  employers  and  oa  the  trade  and 
Industry  of  the  country." 


whetht-r  puch    associations   shall  be  con- 
nected witu  Friendly,  Henetil,  or  Provident 
^Societies,  or  otherwise,  and  shall  extend  to 
all  such  funds  as  are  not  to  be  devoted  to 
the  promotion  of  oVijectrt  criminal  in  their 
own  nature,  but  that  nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  entitle  the  oflice-bearersof  such 
asMciations  or  combinations  to  sue  any  of^ 
their  members  for  arrear  of  contributions,), 
nor  in  any  respect  to  coerce  any  individual 
to  become  a  member  of  such  association  ; 
they  shall  give  any  further  legal  recogni-, 
tion  (except  as  hereinbefore  provided  for) 
to  such  societies  as  is  already  given  in  Law. 
This  Act  to  have  effect  until  the  end  of  the  ' 
Parliamentary  session  next  after  the  Itoyal 
Commission  of  Inijuiry  on  Trade  Unions 
has  given  in  its  report." 

The  petition  was  as  follows  : — 

The  Humble  Petilinn  of  the  Undersigned  Mem- 
bers of  the  Hoviety  of  ,  assemtiling 
or  meeting  at  {or  in)  ,  in  the 
Parish  of                     ,  County  : 

HL'MBLY  8HEWKTH,— 

That  your  petitioners  have  seen  with  deep 
concern  that  by  the  late  decision  of  the 
Court  of  (Queen's  Bench,  in  the  case  of 
Hornby  v.  Close,  this  organization  of  work- 
ing men,  in  common  with  nearly  two 
thousand  similar  Associations  throughout 
the  United  Kingdom,  are  deprived  uf  all 
legal  recognition,  and  of  protection  for  our 
funds. 

That  such  funds  having  been  contributed, 
not  merely  for  what  we  consider  the  legiti- 
mate protection  of  our  trade  interests,  but 
also,  and  principally,  for  mutual  help  and 
support  in  seasons  of  adversity  ;  your  Peti- 
tioners humbly  submit  that  such  a  state  ot 
the  law  is  an  injustice  to  us  as  members  of 
the  community,  will  tend  to  foster  fraud 
and  to  discourage  provident  habits ;  and  is, 
therefore,  extremely  undesirable  to  estab- 
lish or  maintain. 

Your  Petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray 
your  Honorable  House  forthwith  to  enact 
such  a  law  as  will  give  to  us,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  all  such*  Societies,  the  same  protec- 
tion for  their  funds  as  are  enjoyed  by  all 
other  classes  of  her  Majesty's  subjects 
against  fraud  and  dishonesty. 

And  your  Petitioners  will  pray,  etc. 

There  were  many  decisions  yven,  too,  by 
judges  and  minor  magistrates  that  showed 
distinctly  employers  and  operatives  were 
not  equal  when  standing  before  the  seat  of 
judgment.  The  law  did  not  seem  particu- 
larly just  that  would  not  allow  men  to 
"picket"  in  the  tailor's  strike,  but  which 
allowed  the  masters  to  address  a  circular  to 
their  fellow-employers  (being  members  of 
the  Master  Tailors'  Association),  asking 
them  not  to  employ  certain  unionist  work- 
men named  therein  ;  nor  does  that  decision 
(on  the  same  dispute)  seem  a  very  wise  one 


iifiBi«iiii!ii  im^ ' 


iwi^.iPjgu 


iWv 


s  shall  be  con- 
etit,  ui'i'ruvideut 
1  ufaull  exttfud  to 
to  Im)  devutcd  to 
nuiiuul  iu  their 
liug  herein  con- 
B-beartrso/'such 
w  to  sue  any  of 
f  contributions,^ 
>  any  individual' 
ch  association  ; 
f  legal  recogni- 
B  provided  for)' 
y  given  in  Law. 
1  the  end  of  the  ' 
afler  the  Koyal 
Trade  Unions 

ra : — 

deraifftitd  Mem- 
,  angemlilhtff 
,  in  the 
tty; 

seen  with  deep 
ecision  of  the 
n  the  case  of 
ationof  work- 
li  nearly  two 
18  throughout 
eprived  of  all 
ection  for  our 

B  contributed, 
ier  the  legiti- 
interests,  but 
tual  help  and 
y ;  your  Peti- 
iichastate  ot 
s  members  of 
'  foster  fraud 
abit» ;  and  is, 
ble  to  estab- 

humbly  pray 
nth  to  enact 
nd  the  mem- 
same  protec- 
joyed  by  all 
y's  subjects 

»y,  etc. 

jven,  too,  by 
that  showed 
•atives  were 
)  the  seat  of 
em  particu- 
ow  men  to 
1  but  which 
a  circular  to 
members  of 
>n),  asking 
onist  work- 
lat  decision 
ry  wise  one 


which,  acknowledging  that  the  simple  act 
of  ouo  niHU  }>ersuudiug  another  is  perfectly 
legiil,  yet  stated  that,  because  several  men 
organized  themselves  to  inibrm  workmen 
thut  such  and  such  a  shop  was  on  strike, 
they  were  deemed  guilty  of  an  ofi'ence 
agutust  the  law.  Nor  could  right-minded 
meu  be  brought  to  see  the  justice  ol  that 
law  which,  while  it  only  Uned  the  master 
for  breaih  of  contract,  imprisoned  the  ser- 
vant lor  the  same  otfence.  It  was  not  until 
1871  that  an  Act  was  passed  remedying 
these  defects.  The  law  on  the  subject  even 
then  was,  unfortunately,  very  ambiguous 
aud  imperfect.  The  unjust,  cruel,  and 
blundering  imprisonment  of  the  gas  stokers 
showed  that  there  was  still  plenty  of  scope 
for  cunning  lawyers  when  pleading  to  an 
excited  jury  and  before  a  prejudiced  judge. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  whole  tendency  of 
legislation  for  the  men  by  the  masters  has 
ever  been  to  keep  wages  low.  Indeed,  that 
has  been  the  avowed  object  of  the  laws 
which  have  been  passed.  To  counteract 
this,  the  unions  were  formed  to  keep  them 
high,  and  we  have  the  authority  of  a  man 
who  believed  in  a  high  moral  standard  that 
such  conduct  was  praiseworthy.  "  If  it 
were  possible,"  wrote  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill,  "for 
the  working  classes,  by  combining  among 
themselves,  to  raise  or  keep  up  the  general 
rate  of  wages,  it  need  hardly  be  said  that 
this  would  be  a  thing  not  to  be  punished, 
but  to  l)e  welcomed  and  rejoiced  at."  The 
further  improvements  in  the  law  iu  this 
respect  will  be  noticed  in  due  course. 

At  this  time  trade  unions  were  regarded 
unfavorably  by  a  large  portion  of  the  public, 
iu  consequence  of  what  was  known  as  the 
Sheffield  outrages.  "  In  order  to  compel 
men  to  join  their  unions  and  comply  with 
the  rules,  a  system  had  been  adopted  of 
taking  away  the  tools  and  driving  bands  of 
independent  or  defaulting  workmen,  and 
this  system  had  become  so  universal  that 
when  tools  or  bands  had  been  stolen,  the 
sufferers  applied  systematically  to  the  sec- 
retary of  the  union  to  know  on  what  terms 
the  lust  articles  would  be  restored.  But 
the  unionists  were  not  long  rontent  with 
this  exercise  of  their  power,  and  proceeded 
to  the  execution  of  a  series  of  outrages  and 
crimes  which  are  perhaps  almost  without 
parallel  iu  the  history  of  communities  sup- 
posed to  be  civilized.  Masters  and  work- 
men who  refused  or  failed  to  comply  with 
their  rules,  were  subjected  to  treatment  of 
the  most  diabolical  character.  Their  cattle 
were  hamstrung,  or  otherwise  mutilated, 
their  ricks  set  on  fire.  They  were  shot  at, 
aud  in  one  instance  a  master  was  killed  by 
an  n-r  gun  fired  into  a  crowded  room.  Gun- 
pov>  tier  was  usually  employed  iu  the  case  of 
obtidxious workmen.  Canisters weietnrown 
down  chimneys,  bottles  filled  with  the  ex- 
plosive, to  which  lighted  fuses  were  at- 
tached, were  thrown  through  windows  of 


the  workmen's  dwelling  houses,  thus  ex- 
posing women  autl  (liilOrtu  to  itsttirible 
effects.  It  was  a  common  practice  to  place 
gunpowder  iu  grinding  troughs,  which  ex- 
ploued  OS  soon  us  work  was  commenced." 
injustice  to  the  great  l)ody  of  woikmeuat 
iSheilield,  it  should  be  stated  that  these  out- 
rages were  committed  by  a  very  few  per- 
sons, and  were  at  all  times  execrated  by 
the  great  body  of  the  working  classes.  Out 
of  sixty  trade  unions,  then  in  existence, 
twelve  were  implicated  in  these  outrafies, 
and  of  these  it  was  shown  on  inquiry  that 
the  greater  proportion  of  the  members  knew 
nothing  of  the  actions  of  their  officers. 

The  result  of  the  Bhtffield  outrages  was, 
that  a  Koyal  Commission  was  apjiointed  in 
1867  to  inquire  into  the  matter  and  into  the 
condition  of  trade  unions  generally.  The 
conference  of  delegates  already  alluded  to 
urged  upon  the  Uovernment  that  a  trade 
unionist  representative  should  sit  upon  the 
commission.  The  request  was  refuFed,  but 
ultimately  a  concession  was  made  that  Mr. 
Frederic  Harrison,  barrister-at-law,  a 
well-known  advocate  of  nnionitm  and  pos- 
sessing the  confidence  of  the  unionists, 
should  sit  on  the  commission,  and  he  rend- 
ered signal  services  in  that  position.  The 
trade  unionists  also  asked  to  be  present  at 
the  inquiry  to  "watch"  their  interest.  This 
also  was  refused,  but  the  point  was  imma- 
terial as  the  House  of  Lorfs  amended  the 
constitution  of  the  commission  by  throwing 
its  doore  open  to  the  press  and  the  public. 
The  disclosures  before  the  commission  are 
now  a  matter  of  history.  The  authors  of  the 
outrages  were  discovered  only  on  their  own 
confession,  made  under  a  promise  of  par- 
don, and  thus  they  escaped  punishment. 

The  good  points  of  trade  unions  were 
also  fully  placed  before  the  commission  by 
the  best  of  the  unions'  secretaries,  whose 
evidence  will  well  repay  perusal  at  this  day. 
Altogether  the  inquiry  raised  trade  unions 
in  the  estimation  of  the  public.  It  was 
seen  that,  purged  of  their  impurities,  they 
would  be  excellent  institutions,  and  the 
legislature  set  to  work  to  give  them  legal 
status.  In  1871  the  Trade  Union  Act  was 
passed,  making  trade  unions  legal  societies, 
and  preventing  the  members  from  being 
liable  to  prosecution  for  conspiracy,  an 
offence  for  which,  in  days  gone  by,  so  many 
had  suffered  imprisonment ;  while  by  an 
interpretation  given  to  Bnssell  Gnmey's 
Act  of  1868,  due  protection  was  given  to 
the  funds  of  the  society.  In  short,  trade 
unions  were  now  acknowledged  to  be  insti- 
tutions of  the  country.  They  had  hence- 
forth a  charter  of  liberty  and  under  the  light 
and  freedom  so  given  to  them  they  began  to 
flourish,  and,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  snc- 
ceeding  pages,  have  continued  to  flourish, 
to  the  welfare  of  the  working  classes,  and 
the  ceneral  benefit  of  the  whole  common- 
wealth. 


'  1 


.J^ 


■■*^i,  i<jvWf!'W"' 


16 


CHAPTKR  III.  .' 

I 

TRAlJIvS    I'XIOXS — TIIKIR   OHJECTS. 

Bquality  of  IwrKaliilnK  power— To  rnlwi  w»(teit— Protection— Sick  lienefltH,  etc.— Muiiinl  miiiport— 
Mural  imp'  -vement  of  llie  worlciiian- Ezeoiitivo  of  iuiIoiih  prevt-ntt  Mriken- UnwIttitiineB* 
of  uiiioiiiHm— i'rade  uniunii  oungreaaea — Tlieir  iuUuonue  —  Tliu  International —  The  I'aria 
ooiifereiioe. 


The  foregoing  account  of  the  origin  of 
trade  unions  in  almost  uu  answer  to  the 
question,  ''Whut  lire  the  objects  of  trade 
nniouH'/"  The  question  must  at  all  times 
be  dilQcult  to  answer  in  a  sentence,  be- 
cause the  scope  of  the  objects  of  unionism 
grows  with  the  growth  of  unionism.  At 
first  they  were  merely  a  protection  against 
contracts  being  too  unjust,  too  heavy  to  be 
borne.  They  now  demand — and  rightly 
HO — that  contracts  shall  Ims  fair.  Mr.  Dun- 
ning says  the  object  of  a  trade  union  is  "  to 
ensure  the  freedom  of  exchange  with  reganl 
to  labor,  by  putting  the  workman  on  some- 
thing like  an  equal  position  in  bargaining 
with  his  employer."  Professor  Fawcett 
takes  a  similar  view.  Trade  unions  are 
formed,  he  says,  so  "  that  the  laborer  may 
have  the  same  chance  of  selling  his  labor 
dearly  aa  the  master  has  of  buying  it 
cheaply."  At  a  later  date,  the  same  au- 
thority declares  the  intention  of  the  men  to 
have  been  "to  protect  themselves  against 
what  are  supposed  to  IM  the  contlicting  in- 
terests of  their  employers."  So,  too,  Mr. 
Frederic  Harrison  believes  that,  at  any  rate, 
"  theall-importantquestion  is  how  equality 
is  to  be  established, ' '  and  he  represents  the 
placing  of  labor  on  the  same  footing  as  cap- 
ital aa  the  great  desideratum.  Mr.  W.  T. 
Thornton,  however,  admits  of  no  such  ob- 
ject as  the  abstract  idea  of  equality.  The 
object  of  unionism,  he  maintains,  is  not 
merely  to  free  men  from  the  dictation  of 
their  employers,  but  to  change  positions, 
and  to  dictate  ;  and  that  "their  rule  is  to 
get  as  much  as  they  can,  and  to  keep  as 
much  as  they  can  get." 

Although  the  evidence  given  before  the 
Trade  Union  Commission  by  some  of  the 
most  intelligent  and  trustworthy  of  the 
trade  union  secretaries  endorses  such  views 
as  those  expressed  by  Mr.  Thornton,  yet  the 
history  of  the  movement  shows  that  al- 
though unions  may  have  been  founded 
principally,  if  not  solely,  as  protective  as- 
sociations, and  have  developed  to  some  ex- 
tent into  aggressive  associations,  yet  they 
have  long  ago  embraced  other  features  in 
their  objects.  They  now  aim  at  every 
means  that  will  raise  workmen  to  the  best 
position  it  is  possible  for  them  to  obtain  . 

An  impartial  inquirer,  then,  will  take  a 


higher  view  of  the  object  of  trade  unionism 
than  Mr.  Thornton  believes  in,  without 
being  liable  to  a  charge  of  sentimentalism. 
The  object  of  a  trade  union  is  a  wide  one, 
vie,  to  do  all  that  can  be  done  to  better  in 
every  respect  the  condition  of  its  members. 
The  raising  of  the  rate  of  wages  is  un- 
doubtedly the  principal  means  to  that  end, 
but  to  say  that  it  m  the  "sole  aim"  is  to 
ni  intake  the  one  for  the  other.  Based  upon 
union,  the  efforts  of  these  organizations 
are  collective,  and  the  results  general,  not 
special.  Unlike  most  kinds  of  individual 
effort,  the  object  is  not  to  assist  men  to  lift 
themselves  outof  their  class,  aa  if  they  were 
ashamed  of  it,  or  aa  if  manual  labor  were  a 
disgrace,  but  to  raise  the  class  itself  in 
physical  well-l)eing  and  self-estimation. 

No  encycloptedia  has  yet  devoted  lui  ar- 
ticle to  trade  anions,  and  yet  trade  union- 
ism is  an  accomplished  fact.  They  are 
built  on  a  rock — a  firm,  sound,  substimtial 
basis.  They  cannot  be  annihilated.  If  they 
were  done  away  with  to-day,  they  would 
spring  up  again  to-morrow,  the  same  aa  in 
ttie  celebrated  dispute  with  Messrs.  Piatt, 
(if  Oldham,  when  the  men  were  storvecl 
into  submission,  and  were  obliged  to  give 
up  their  union,  yet  they  re-joine«l  as  soon  as 
they  were  at  work.  Although  unionism  in 
Lancashire  languished  during  the  cotton 
famine,  it  sprung  into  life  with  renewed 
vigor  when  the  crisis  was  over.  It  would 
be  well  if  the  employers  at  present  endeav- 
oring to  crush  out  imionism  amongst  the 
workmen  would  take  warning  from  these 
facta.  It  is  a  mistake  to  say  that  unions 
are  the  cause  of  hostility  between  labor 
and  capital ;  they  are  the  result  of  that  hos- 
tility. It  will  be  well  for  the  employers  to 
remember  this.  Itwill  be  well  for  them  to 
realize  the  fact  that  unions  will  not  decrease 
iu  power,  aa  some  persons  fondly  hope. 

Wherever  there  has  been  intelligence, 
there  has  been  combination.  Profe«i.'H)r 
Fawcett  pointed  out,  iu  1871,  that  there 
was  no  combination  amongst  the  agricul- 
tural laborers,  because  they  were  "too  ig- 
norant," and  because  there  was  a  "want  of 
intelligence."  They  quietly  submitted  in 
North  Herefordshire  to  a  pittance  of  nine 
or  ten  shillings  a  week,  while  their  fellow- 
laborers    in    Warwickshire   were    getting 


IT 


— MuhibI  gii|iport— 
iken— UiiiH*lfliitin«w 
tioiial  — The  Paris 


9f  trade  unionism 
Bves   in,  without 
Hentimentalism. 
on  ia  a  wide  one, 
done  to  better  in 
1  of  its  membera. 
of  wages  is  nn- 
eaustotbat  end, 
'sole  aim"  is  to 
ler.     Based  upon 
•e»  organizations 
ults  general,  not 
dsof  individual 
issist  men  to  lift 
8,  as  if  they  were 
ual  labor  were  a 
e  class  itself  in 
If-estimation. 
t  devoted  lui  ar- 
^et  trade  union- 
Fact.      They  are 
und,  snbstiuitial 
ibilated.  If  they 
lay,  they  would 
,  the  same  as  in 
b  Messrs.  Piatt, 
n  were  starved 
obliged  to  give 
ioineti  as  soon  as 
iigh  unionism  in 
ring  the  cotton 
B  with  renewed 
over.    It  would 
present  endeav- 
sm  amongst  the 
ling  from  these 
say  that  unions 
between  labor 
«ultofthathos- 
he  employers  to 
(veil  for  them  to 
vill  not  decrease 
)ndly  hope. 
»n  intelligent, 
on.      Professor 
^71,  that  there 
^t  the  agricul- 
were  "too  ig- 
wa8a"want{)f 
y  submitted  in 
ittanre  of  nine 
le  their  fellow- 
were    getting 


twelve  shillings  a  week,  and  probably  they 
were  ko  iunred  to  Mufl'ering  that  they 
would  never  have  complained,  had  they 
not  lieen  persistently  subjected  to  pitiU'SH, 
relentless,  and  objectless  cruelty.  It  in  a 
fact  that  the  most  intelligent  of  our  nrti- 
t*:iUH  are  the  must  earnest  advocuteM  of 
trade  unions,  and  these  have  not  been  slow 
to  instruct  their  less  fortunate  brethren  in 
the  advantages  of  unionism. 

The  power  of  trade  unions  will  increase 
with  experience,  and  their  inlluence  will 
extend  as  education  becomes  general.  It 
is  for  employers  to  say  whether  they  will 
1k»w  to  a  necessity  gra<riously,  or.  as  hither- 
to, goad  t4)  the  last  extremity.  Day  by 
day  the  men  are  Itecoming  lews  and  less  de- 
pendent upon  the  caprice  of  employers. 
Their  demand  for  just  laws  cannot  longer 
be  disregarded,  and  even  now  they  are 
able  to  show  that  they  are  as  compett-ut  as 
any  other  class  to  take  care  ot  their  owr 
personal  habits  and  requirements. 

The  unions,  formed  in  the  manner  de- 
scribed, spread  rapidly.  They  did  not 
long  confine  themselves  to  the  villages  or 
towns  in  which  they  began,  but  the 
"unions"  in  various  places"amalgamated," 
and  thus  iuiluenctd  large  areas.  They  ex- 
tended their  lamiticution  still  wider,  and 
they  embraced  the  whole  kingdom,  and 
even  obtained  a  footing  in  America  and 
Australia. 
.  No  trade  union  is  subsidized.  Thefnnds 
arire  from  the  contributions  of  members. 
In  the  Amalgamated  Society  of  Engineers, 
the  contribution  generally  is  one  shilling 
a  week,  and  if  a  man  be  in  arrears,  he  is 
suspended  from  the  benefits  of  the  society 
— unless,  indeed,  he  is  out  of  work,  or  in 
distressed  circumstances. 

No  sketch  of  a  trade  anion  can  give  any 
idea  of  the  scrnpnlous  care  that  is  taken  to 
do  that  which  is  lawful  and  right.  Tlie 
code  of  rules  of  a  trade  union  bristles  with 
judicious  safeguards.  The  ideas  iMt  a 
strike  depends  upon  the  ipse  dixit  of  a  paid 
agitator,  and  that  if  the  men  were  to  vote 
by  ballot  on  the  question,  they  would  never 
consent  to  a  strike,  are  conceived  by  those 
only  who  do  not  know  what  a  trade  union 
is.  In  most  cases  a  strike  ia  the  result  of 
action  taken  by  the  men  themselves  in  each 
district,  the  executive  havingmore  power  to 
prevent  a  strike  than  to  initiate  one.  8o 
recently  aa  the  last  cotton  strike,  the  exec- 
utive did  all  they  could  to  prevent  the 
strike,  but  the  operatives  rushed  into  it  in 
spite  of  the  protestations  of  all  the  leaders. 

As  a  proof  of  the  care  taken  to  avoid 
strikes,  may  be  mentioned  that  several  of 
the  most  powerful  unions  in  the  kingdom, 
have  made  a  rule  that  in  no  case  shall  aid 
be  given  to  any  lood  branch,  unless  it  can 
be  proved  that  b<  fore  going  out  a  bona 
fide  ofTor  of  arbitration  has  Wn  made  to 
the  employer.    The  secretaries,  or  execu- 


tive, too,  always  warn  their  union  to  avoid 
causes  of  dispute.  "It  was  coiilideutly  ex- 
pecte<l,"  says  Mr.  Thos.  Ilughen,  in  the 
Venturt),  "that  strikes  would  grow  in  num- 
bers and  intensity,  as  the  unions  spread 
over  larger  areas  ;"  but  "of  late  yea«s  the 
number  of  these  strikes  has  notably  dimin- 
ished ;  and  every  year  the  chancts  of 
such  lamentable  contests  seem  likely  to 
decrease."  It  should  be  noted  further, 
that  Mr.  Frederic  Harrison,  at  the  Trade 
Union  Congress,  and  Mr.  tieorjje  Howell, 
ill  the  CotttniifHtrar!/  ttvvitw,  pointed  out 
that  "in  IHHi,  the  Amalgamafed  Kiigineers, 
with  iia  income  of  i;i'24,0(KI.  and  u  cash 
balance  of  £  108,(11  to,  expendul  in  disputes 
altogether,  including  the  sup(K<rt  they  gave 
to  other  tradeM,  the  sum  of  JCW*")  only.  That 
was  fur  le.>-s  than  one  tier  cent,  ol  their  in- 
come. The  lionfoui. dels  spent,  out  of  an 
income  of  i;42.0(M),  t214  only  ;  and  the 
Amalgamated  Carpenleis,  who  had  had  a 
numl^r  of  disputes,  and  had  been  engaged 
in  strikes,  spent  £'2000  only,  out  of  Jt.W.tlOO, 
which  was  only  four  per  cent. ;  the  Tailora, 
with  X18,000,  spent  £565  only  ;  and  the 
Stonemasons,  with  11,000  members  in 
union — the  report  seems  to  say  more  in 
sorrow  than  pride— spentnothing  in  strikes. 
During  six  years  of  unexampled  bad  trade, 
reduction  of  wages,  and  industrial  disturb- 
ance, there  were  a  great  many  strikes,  and 
during  that  period,  seven  great  trade  socie- 
ties expended  in  the  settlement  of  dis- 
putes £162,000  only,  out  of  a  capital  of 
nearly  £2,000,000.  Last  year  these  socie- 
ties, with  an  aggregate  income  of  £3:{0,000, 
and  a  cash  balance  of  £360,000,  expended 
altogether,  in  matters  of  dispute,  about 
£5000,  which  was  not  two  per  cent,  upon 
the  whole  of  their  income,  and  not  one  per 
cent,  upon  their  total  available  resources 
for  the  year."  The  rules  of  unions,  too, 
are  so  framed  that  the  work  of  the  officers 
of  the  local  union  is  not  interfered  with  by 
the  duties  of  their  offic<e.  Thus  no  member 
must  call  on  an  officer  when  he  ia  at  his 
ordinary  work  under  a  penalty  of  one 
shilling ;  and  there  are  many  wise  and 
prudent  regulations,  the  most  important  of 
which  will  be  pointed  out  in  due  course. 

A  remarkable  feature  in  trade  unionism, 
is  its  thorough  unselfishness.  The  various 
societies  are  not  opposed  to  each  other  ;  in- 
deed, they  help  one  another.  Every  assist- 
ance is  given  to  those  who  are  prepared  to 
sacrifice  whatever  benefits  are  to  be  derived 
from  living  in  this  country,  by  emigrating 
to  another.  Wotkingmen  rtalize  the  fact 
that  by  some  going,  all  are  lienefited.  Not 
only  do  they  cheerfully  submit  to  the  ordi- 
nary contributions  of  an  entrance  fee.  and 
a  weekly  subscription,  but  they  are  ever 
ready  to  psy  an  extra  levy,  sometimes  for 
their  own  trade  purposi  s,  but  very  ofteu 
for  ulterior  objects,  such  as  assisting  Mr. 
Plimsoll  in  his  agitation.    The  noble  way 


18 


UH! 


in  which  ulinoHt  every  union  lielpctl  the 
Mcricultiinkl  luhorerx,  iind  in  which  Home  of 
them  HulmcriliHtl  to  4he  lelicC  I'iiihI  tor  the 
fitniin«iM  Iniliu,  will  not  eiiMily  \m  I'trKot- 
ten.  This  Hiicritire  liy  the  iuiliviilual  lor 
thn  henetit  of  the  coinniunily,  contniMiH 
fitvor.iMy  with  tlm  thoroughly  Hellish  pni- 
l(r:vtiiiiii>  iif  the  Natioiml  l''e<leiutiou  of  Awm>- 
ciuted  Kiuployers,  iitui  prohuhly  wcoiintM 
for tliH^iMierikl  tendency  to  victory  on  the 
Hiiii)  of  tliii  men  whenever  diHpnttH  arijte. 
The  employerH  do  not  try  to  help  eiu-h 
other.  Theynrein  opposition  t«>ench  other. 
Their  iiDtto  i«,  "Eucli  for  hiniHelf,"  »nd 
they  are  only  united  in  their  utteniptH  to 
cru.sh  the  men.  The  men,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  worth  re|>eatin){,  NJnk  all  indi- 
vidual leeliUKH,  and  help  each  other  in  a 
thoroughly  jiriuitical  and  praitieworthy 
manner. 

it  reniilin')  to  point  out  that  the  principle 
of  untiini  <ni  it)  extending  heyond  individual 
tradeM.  In  .ill  large  towua  there  arc  trade 
ooancilH,  lorined  of  delegat«H  from  various 
nnion.H.  These  councils  look  atlber  the  gen- 
eral inteicstfl  of  the  uuionistfl  in  the  area 
represented,  and  an  attentive  reader  of  the 
puhlic  prints  cannot  have  failed  to  notice 
that  th^y  lire  aa  ready  to  censure  the  action 
of  nniii!)  members  who  have  done  wrong  aa 
to  supiiort  the  action  of  those  who  are  in  the 
right.  The  growth  of  unionism  shows  it- 
self still  further  in  the  annual  congress 
which  is  now  held.  This  is  a  thoroughly 
national  institution,  and  its  arrangements 
allow  of  the  widest  poesihle  latitude  in  the 
subjects  for  discussion.  It  is  now  sixteen 
years  since  the  "Labor  Parliament "  began 
(at  Manchest«r)  its  annual  sittings,  and  if 
there  were  no  other  evidence  of  the  great 
good  unionism  accomplishes,  the  work  of 
the  Trade  Union  Congress  would  be  ample 
testimony.  Many  most  beneficent  acts  of 
Parliament  are  directly  due  to  the  action  of 
the  rongre!«t,  and  others  have  been,  and 
others  again  are  being,  improved  by  the 
same  influence.  The  Employers'  Liability 
Bill  ir  a  case  in  point,  and  testifies  also  to 
the  persistent  industry  and  ability  with 
which  all  obstacles  are  removed  and  all  dif- 
ficulties overcome.  The  extension  of  the 
Factory  Acts  to  workshops  is  another  in- 
stance, as  is  also  the  Act  for  the  better  Reg- 
ulation of  Mines;  while  the  protection  af- 
forded to  wages  by  alterations  in  the 
Bankrupt  Lawi.s  also  due  to  the  direct 
influence  of  the  parliamentary  committee 
of  the  congress.  At  present  it  is  exerting 
its  powers  to  have  a  proper  inspection  of 
boilers,  a  proof  of  the  competency  of  engine 
drivers;  the  protection  of  merchant  seamen, 
and  a  great  many  other  things.  In  addi- 
tion, the  congress,  ns  has  been  said,  exerts 
its  influence  on  many  questions  that  may 
not  at  first  cinht  appear  really  "labor ques- 
tions." Whilo  disavowing  party  politics, 
it  urges  that  workmen  should   be  eufran- 


ohist'd ;  that  the  Corrnpt  Practices  Act 
should  i'lieajieu  thecoMt  of  eleetioim,  ho  that 
lalNirtnuy  hiive  a  chance  of  direct  lepresen- 
tiition  III  I'iirliiiiiieiit;  timtulttnitioiis  in  the 
criiiiiiiiil  law  shall  not  iilVfi't  workmen  dif- 
ferently tootlier  )H-ople  ;  tiii<l  tliiit  artisans 
sliall  be  jiiiymeii,  factory  iiispectorH,  mid 
otherwise  net  mi  those  tK-ciiHions  wherein 
the  artis.m  and  the  ojierative  are  .is  niiicli 
eonceriied  lis  anylwMly  el.se.  Added  to 
which  it  sliMuld  lie  uliser\ed  that  the  an- 
nual githeriiig  together  of  the  picked 
iinioiiistrt  of  the  country  must  lend  t4> 
Htrengtiicn  the  feeling  of  ItrotherhiNNl 
iinioiig>t  them  whicli  is  the  basis  ou  whicn 
nnionism  rests  * 

It  is  easy  to  see  witherward  this  tendency 
pointH.  From  a  national  congrehs  to  an  iii- 
tamational  conjsreHH  is  a  very  short  step. 
The  Trade  Union  Congress  of  )>^'\>  piuwed  a 
rcselution  <n  favor  of  a  fedeiiituiii  of  all  the 
tradesof  the  United  Kingdom,  and  thorough 
unionists  desire  to  see  a  federation  of  all 
the  trailes  throughout  the  world.  An  in- 
ternational congress  was  snccessfnily  at- 
tempted some  years  ago,  and  failed  at  limt 
only  because  of  the  socialism  so  character- 
istic of  the  continental  ouvriir,  who  dreams 
of  an  exterminating  war  against  a  clam,  in- 
stead of  seeking  to  do  that  which  the  Inter- 
national 8o<-iety  originally  intended  to  do, 
viz.,  to  make  trade  unionism  cosmopolitan 
instead  of  national. 

The  experience  of  the  lat«  International 
Association  will  enable  the  promoters  of  a 
new  one,  inevitable  sooner  or  later,  to  ar- 
range matters  u]>on  as  sound  a  basis  as  are 
trade  unions  in  this  country.     The  leading 

*When  the  Trade  Union  ConKrera  Arst  Rtartcd, 
it  woa  made  tlio  iiiedlum  of  addresHesin  fuvor  of 
tlie  principles  of  uniontam  l>y  Kentleineii  of  posi- 
tion, not  ineml>er8  of  niiy  union.  It  was  soon 
seen  that  these  addresat's.  Iiowever  iiiterestinK, 
worenotof  that  practical  business  character  for 
which  the  congress  met,  and  wero  delivered  to  a 
body  of  men  wlio  obviously  requirvd  no  proof  of 
the  principle*  they  held ,  and  the  practice  was  at 
lengtli  forbidden  by  a  standing  order  "that  papers 
in  defence  of  trade  unions  are  unneoesaary." 
Facilities,  however,  are  always  ftlven  for  ad- 
dresses on  general  BUl>iecta  affectinK  latx>r,  by 
competent  authorities,  at  times  which  do  not  in- 
terfere with  the  huHinesfi  of  the  oonKrera.  Another 
and  an  important  point  that  was  found  torequii« 
alteration  was  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  oon- 
Rress  the  regulations  for  the  admUsion  of  dele- 
gates were  not  sufllciently  stringent,  or,  more 
correctly  speaking,  were  not  carried  out  with 
proper  rigor,  A  peculiar  uircuinstanre  brought 
the  matter  to  a  crisis.  The  paid  agitutora  of  a 
"Fair  Trade"'  organlKHlinn  imdolTered  Ihclr  ser- 
vices as  delegates  grntiiitouxly  to  certain  unions, 
and  theve.  actuated  by  a  tnine  economy,  accepted 
those  services.  The  agitators  presented  them- 
selves for  admission  at  llie  congress  of  1881  (held 
in  Ivondon),  butaftcr  amne  dittcussion  were  ex- 
pelled—the rule  tlint  delegiites  shniild  l>e  for- 
Mially  elected,  and  their  expenses  pud  by  the  so- 
ciety which  sent  them,  being  on  this  occasion 
carried  out,  despite  precedent;  and  the  matter 
was  Anally  fiet  at  rest  by  a  resolution  "that  no 
one  should  l>e  eligible  as  a  delegate  whose  ex- 
penses are  paid  by  private  individuals,  or  by  any 
institution  not  iena  ^dt  trade  unions  or  tiad* 
oounoils." 


ipt   I'rartirea  Act 

IcIl-t'tiolIN,  HO  tIlUt 

i(  (lirec't  icpreiK'ii- 
t  altt'i'iitioriK  ill  ilie 
I'fct  workiiieu  diC- 

iiikI  Unit  artiwtnH 
y  iiiHprctorM,  ami 
K'caHioiiN  wherein 
tivf  are  :i.s  miieli 

s»<.  Addt'd  to 
r\«Ml   tliat  tlie  aii- 

«»■  till)  pickwl 
y  iiniHt    U-iid    ut 

o(  lirotlierhtMKl 
le  baxia  ou  whicli 

ard  thin  tendency 
(•<)n^^•e^H  to  un  in- 
very  short  st«j(. 
sof  lH-;i)  piiwed  rt 
leratioii  dCall  the 
cm,  and  thorough 
federation  of  all 
e  world.  An  iii- 
supcessfnlly  at- 
knd  failed  at  hmt 
ism  so  character- 
TUT,  wlio  dreaniH 
i;ainHt  a  claw,  in- 
which  tbelnter- 
r  intended  to  do, 
ism  cosmopolitan 

tte  International 
e  prumot«rs  of  a   > 
r  or  later,  to  ar- 
nd  a  basis  as  are 
ry.     The  leading 

iRreraHrat  fttartcd, 
IclrenHvsiii  fuvorof 
Kentleinen  of  posi- 
inioii.   It  was  soon 
wever  iiiterestinur, 
ineaa  character  for 
»ere  delivered  to  a 
!quir*d  no  proof  of 
the  practice  was  at 
order  "that  papers 
ire  unneoesaary." 
iy«  iffven  for  ad- 
ifiectinK  labor,  by 
J  wliich  do  not  In- 
oonftrevs.  Another 
u  found  torequira 
r  davs  of  the  con- 
tdmlDsion  of  dele- 
ringent,  or,  more 
carried    out  with 
iiniHtance  bruuKht 
»id  afritatore  of  a 
oflTercd  iliclr  ser- 
to  certain  unions, 
conomy,  accepted 

presented  lliem- 
rressof  1881  (held 
wuitsion  were  ez- 
s  should  he  for- 
lesp'iid  by  the  so- 
on this  occasion 

and  the  matter 
)lution  "that  no 
IcKate  whose  ex- 
riduak.or  by  any 

unions  or  tiad* 


19 


trade  nnionistB  in  Knitland  realize  the  fact, 
and  are  not  afraid  id  express  it.  The  (;crni 
of  the  orptniKiition  Im  prtHent  in  the  fort-iKn 
braiichcH  of  Home  of  the  lur^eKt  unions,  and 
it  iM  no  iiiironinKiii  tiling  lor  the  working- 
men  here  to  acsist  their  brethren  in  dis- 
piiteH  abroad.  To  alinost  all  the  meetiiiKs 
of  tlie  Trade  I'nioii  Couj<res»t  come  men- 
saxes  froui  their  continental  friends.  In 
lH7ri  it  was  fioiii  the  "  International  Labor 
Union,"  in  1h7!»  it  was  from  the  Trade 
Unions  of  (termany.  In  IHHl  the  workmen 
of  Hwitznrhind  similarly  approached  their 
KnKlish  friends;  and  in  iHKtciiiue  an  invi- 
tation from  i'aris  that  was  eordially  ac- 
cepted. The  friendly  I'eelinK  towards  each 
other  of  workmen  in  dillerent  conntries, 
and  the  international  relationships  that  are 
sprinKing  up,  were  illustrated  in  1874  and 
in  I8HJ  by  the  visit  to  England  of  deputa- 
tions from  the  railway  servants  of  France 
and  Helgium;  and  still  more  recently  by  the 
retnprocul  visits  of  the  London  and  I'aris 
cabmen. 

This  noble  sentiment  is  peculiar  to  work- 
men. The  employers  have  not  yet  learned 
to  love  one  another.  It  is  a  sentiment, 
however,  that  is  rapidly  spreading,  and  in 
high  <iaarters.  Professor  Thorold  Rogers, 
in  bis  admirable  work  so  often  quoted, 
says,  "I  confess  that  I  look  forward  to  the 
international  union  of  labor  partnerships 
OS  the  best  prospect  the  world  has  of  coerc- 
ing those  hateibl  instincts  of  government, 
all  alike  irresponsible  and  indifferent,  by 
which  nations  are  perpetually  armed 
against  each  other,  to  the  infinite  detri- 
ment, loss,  and  demoralization  of  all." 

In  response  to  the  invitation  of  1863, 
just  referred  to,  the  Trade  Unions  Congress 
empowered  Mr.  £.  W.  Bailey,  Mr.  John 
Burnett,  and  Mr.  Hennr  Broadhurst  and 
others  to  attend  the  conference  in  Paris  of 
representative  working  men  of  France, 
Italy,  and  Spain,  and  I  will  allow  these 
gentlemen  to  express  their  views  on  the 
matter  in  their  own  words,  by  giving  a  con- 
densation of  their  official  report.  "The 
conference  was  presided  over  by  Messrs. 
Broadhurst  and  Shipton,  and  by  Miss 
Simcox,  and  by  the  French,  Italian,  and 
Bpanikh  delegates  successively.  Mr.  Bur- 
nett jiresided  over  the  first  public  meeting, 
and  Mis.  Heather  ley  over  the  third.  The 
French  procedure  in  business  is  different 
from  our  own.  They  discuss  a  question 
generally.  They  attempt  to  form  a  resolu- 
tion to  meet  the  expression  of  opinion 
given  in  debate.  So  far  as  our  experience 
went,  this  mode  is  not  so  expeditions  as  the 
custom  adopted  by  ns,  of  drawing  np  a 
resolution  and  debating  it,  and  then 
amending  it  as  may  be  found  necessary. 
We  found  that  the  chief  work  lay  in  the 
debate  in  committee  over  the  terms  of  reso- 
lutions. At  one  time  it  looked  ss  though 
the   conference    would  fail  in  this  work; 


I  however,  this  undesirable  evcntwns  avoid- 
{  e<i,  and  our  MiihHei|Uent  businesH  Incame 
more  agreeable  and  i-asy.  '1  he  jMiinl  of 
,  ditferencu  was  llie  pxt4-nt  to  which  the 
I   State  should  be  asked  to  protect  lalH)r. 

"Uur  time   was  too  much  o<'ciipied  wiUi 
'   meetings  to  ndniit   of  much  investigation 
'    into   the   number,  the  extent,  aiul  strength 
!    of  tho  I'uris  trade  unions;  but  so  tur  as  we 
I    conld  gather,  it,  a]i|)eared  that  the  comjMMi- 
it^irs,  tho  engineej's,   the  Nmiths,  and  the 
I    carpenters  )M>HHeHsed  the  best  unions.  Even 
i    these  cannot  bt) compared  with  the  Hritish 
I   nnions  in  stability  or  discipline.     The  dif- 
I    Acuity  ap]tears  to   be   to  get  them  to  pay 
;   contributions   of  more    than    two])euce   a 
I   week.     Even  this  sum  is  only   paid  by  a 
I   comparatively  small  number  of  the  men. 
j  The  masons'    delegate  stated  that  out  of 
I  some  thousands  of  masons  who   accepted 
the  principles  of  their  society,  only  about 
sixty  men  were  regular  subscribers.    From 
this   statement,    and    from   other   things 
which    came    under    our   observation,    it 
would  appear  that  the  numerical  strength 
of  an  association  is  reckoned  upon  the  basis 
of  the  number  of  those  in  the  given  trade 
who  approve  of  the  objects  of  the  union, 
and  not  upon  the  number  of  those  who 
contribute  to  the  funds,  such  as  thry  are. 
It  was  upon  this  loose  condition  of  thingfi 
that   the    English   delegates   made   their 
strongest  attack,  by  stating  the  condition 
of  membership  in  Great  Britain,  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  members  to  exert  themselves 
in  making  the  societies  more  solid  and 
numerous. 

"From  what  came  under  our  notice,  we 
are  of  opinion  that  the  condition  of  the 
workpeople  {i.e.,  the  mechanics)  in  Paris 
is  not  so  good  as  that  of  corresponding 
trades  in  Great  Britain.  We  met  an  Eng- 
lish mat'on  in  Paris,  who  is  engaged,  by  an 
English  firm  of  contractors,  at  the  erection 
of  a  Protestant  church.  He  informed  tu 
that  he  was  receiving  London  wages  (viz., 
ninepence  an  hour),  out  of  which  he  paid 
eighteen  francs  a  week  (15«.)  for  a  furnished 
room,  firing,  and  the  use  of  a  kitchen,  the 
latter  shared  smongst  three  families.  A 
shoemaker,  who  was  a  delegate  at  the  con- 
ference, said  that  men  in  his  trade  were 
working  fourteen  hours  a  day  for  three  and 
a  half  francs  (28.  lid.).  These  and  similar 
statements  made  by  other  delegates,  in 
reference  to  some  of  the  provincesof  France, 
would  seem  to  prove  that  the  condition  of 
other  French  workpeople  in  the  large  cen- 
tres and  at  large  works  is  anything  but  an 
enviable  one. 

"With  the  exception  of  a  wish  to  rely 
upon  the  State  for  things  they  may  do  for 
themselves,  we  did  not  object  to  the  gen- 
eral views  of  the  French  delegates  on 
social  questions.  A  delegate  from  the  car- 
penters (M.  Tortellicr)wa8  an  exception. 
He  was  in  favor  of  revolution  by  force,  but 


w# 


.we  were  inCornml  tlmt  Him  ))«>rMii<  \.»f 
under  it  xfiitcntn  ol  iiiipiDHiiiiiierii.  iinil 
would  Nerve  IiIh  term  <i(  |>iiiiihliiiieiit  at  hir* 
convenience.  The  niitiinil  initrence  to  l>e 
dmwn  from  lliiH»<toM'iiit  iit  niMUiat  he  whn, 
in  the  intereet  id  the  reiicriomiry  piirty, 
doin«  hm  hest  toeaiihe  Htrite;  thiiH  ull'ord- 
inn  n  pretext  fur  the  continnunce  ol  the 
Frenrli  hiw  relatiliK  to  hkbor  coiultinntiooH, 
which  we  have  no  hmitation  in  saying  in  n 
di^grme  to,  and  an  aiiomulv  in,  u-Kepulili- 
curi  nation. 

"Tiie  N|*eecheN  of  the  Frenirh  dWeKateH 
mntjiined  conHtant  reference  t«,  and  wm- 
demnation  of,  tlte  iMiiiiymin,  ir.,  the  mid- 
dle «lii«we«.  It  would  app«-ar  that  there  Im 
little  or  no  intercoiirw  iietween  the  work- 
men and  the  middle  cliwMeH  in  France,  and 
the  former,  therefore,  look  uiwn  the  latter 
an  their  nutnral  enemies;  hut  we  are  Imund 
to  nay  that  the  want  of  intimacy  in  not 
only  obvioua  in  tlie  cattee  referred  to,  but  it 
iH  also  true,  Uj  a  lamentuble  extent,  be- 
tween the  variouH  Kroupe  of  workmen 
theniHel  ves.  We  are  pai n fu I  ly  al  i  ve  to  1  he 
difl'erenceti  l)etween  workmen  in  our  own 
counti-y,  and  to  it«  deterrent  effev.t  npon 
oar  lhou«ht  and  pronreiw,  but,  happily,  it 
doeenotexiHt  here  to  such  a  decree  a«  it 
does  in  France. 

"We  have  here  ({Iven  a  ri-mvie  of  onr 
deleKatiou.  We  do  not  now  offer  any  defi- 
nite opinions  as  to  the  ultimate  issue  of  the 
conference  in  relation  to  the  future  inter- 
course between  the  peoples  of  tlje  United 
Kini^dom  and  the  peoples  of  the  continen- 
tal nations.  We  hope  it  may  bear  some 
fhiit  We  are  assured  of  one  thing, 
and  that  is  that  the  Kritish  trade  unions 
have  not  aai&nd  bj  tta*  «oatacfe  witb  their 


loieijrn  ip»tHM  iaten.  We  Nhould  I*  open  to 
the  ctiarxe  ul  vanity  it  we  \entnrid  to 
h<)|ie  that  our  kontiiiintal  tirelhreii  hail 
benrlitetl  t)y  our  iiiterciuirNe  with  tlieni." 

In  Antwerp,  (ihent,  anil  Kru.sMclH.  too, 
the  cabinet  niakerH  have  icceiitly  >M-en 
holdinK  met'tinKH,  and  have  decided  to  lorm 
A  nbion  on  the  plan  of  the  Alliance  t'alti- 
net-mukers'  Atwuclation  ol  Kngland  ;  and 
indeed,  any  one  who  reads  the  (ilHcial 
documents  of  the  traile  nniims  of  the  lini 
ted  Kint(iloiiicannot)>utlMt struck  witb  the 
•'lose  intercourhe  with  the  workmen  ufol  her 
nations,  with  a  view  that  no  person  takinn; 
work  in  a  foreign  country  shall  undefHeli 
the  workmen  of  lhatcx)untry. 

It  is  !ieen,   then,   that  a  trade  union  la 
preeminently  fitted  for  the  work  it  ban  to 
do,  as  must  necessarily  Iw  the  ease  when 
the  work  to  be  done  has  created  the  orgun- 
i74ttion,  and  not  that  the  organizattion  has 
created  the  work  to  l)o  done.    The  jiower 
to  take  men  whence  they  are  not  wanted, 
and  to  carry  them— abroad   if  nececnary — 
where  there  is  work  to  do ;  the  tare  that,  is 
taken  of  the  interests  of  the  men,  as  op- 
posed to  the  aggression  of  the  employer,  lut 
shown  by  tbefrciiuentreportsof  the  branch 
secretaries  on  the  tra<Ie  of  their  diHtricts: 
the  ability  to  support  men  "on  strike;'' 
the  way  in  which  the  anions  assist  each 
other  and  the  ease  with  whioh  additional 
contributions  are  successfully  levie<I;and 
the  fund  that  is  reserved  for  sickness,  emi 
gration,  atrcidents,  superannuation,  bnriaU 
etc. — of  which  more  hereafter — are  all  evi- 
dences of  the  willingness  of  the  men  to 
obey  an  organization  in  which  they  have 
confidence,  and  which  they  believe  ia  work- 
ing for  their  good. 


<■  Nhniilil  li»  op4in  to 
il   we  xciiIiidmI    to 

HUM*-  Willi  «  In-Ill.  " 

unil   l<ruNM4'|r<,  tott, 

live    ri'Cfiilly     U-en 

iiive  (Ir4'iite<1  to  form 

the  Alllttiice  C'uln- 

ol   Kiigluiiil  ;  iitid 

reudn  the  olHciul 
niiionH  ot  th«i  l>ni 
-lM*NtriU'k  with  the 
leworknirnofolher 
lit  no  p«rmiii  iitk  inj; 
itry  shall  unili-ixoll 
antry. 

»t  a  trade  anion  i« 
the  work  it  huN  to 

Im)  theeiwe  when 
created  the  or^un- 
110  organi/Mtion  haa 
1  done.     The  jxiwer 
y  are  not  wunted, 
laA   if  nececitury — 
1o ;  the  <!are  that  is 
of  the  men,  m  op- 
>f  the  employer,  m 
ports  of  the  hran<;h 
Bof  their  diMtrii'tN: 
men  "on  strike;'' 
unions  uMni  each 
1  which  additional 
wfully  Ievie<l;and 
for  Nickness,  em< 
innnation,  biirialt 
eafter — are  all  evi- 
MS  of  the  men  to 
I  which  they  h»v« 
«7belieT*iawork* 


*Tr 


» 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TRADE   UNIONS— THEIk    KFFICACY. 

niojr  li«re  niMd  WKffeii— I'roofs  and  Initanot  •— flow  iniieh  h*ve  Die  uiilona  ritlaefl  wumtT— The 
uiiloiiM  •  rtM'ortI  of  the  utitla  of  tlie  lalior  iimrlirt— Waneit  would  not  rUn  iiulckly  hut  for  uiiloiii 
—"All  uiiHiKt'Piuirul  Ntrlk«  ofl«iii  iiuot««dN"— I^ickI  BtrlkvH  Altuct  dlxlitiit  nr<!iui  mid  many  trade* 
— The  aKrliiuUiiral  lahorern— Whore  iinloiiliiiii  Ih  weak,  watcea  ar«  low-Mhortrr  hoiirn,  y«i  more 
work— I'let*  work— Krrori*  of  uiiloiw— UilllviiltU^H  ot  the  Ui  ion  nvcri-tary— KiMillnh  ntrikeii  liijii- 
rioiiN,  may  prevent  a  rlne  of  wnKeii— A  fair  dny'i  waK<'"~-Kmpl(>y<>rM  t'oiiihtnallnna — Hoard*  of 
arhltration— Trade  iiiiloiia  prevent  •trlken— Hpread  of  iinlonlam— The  power  of  traile  union*  ao- 
knowlfdRed  hy  the  eniployer* — Trade  un<on*  a*  friendly  and  benettl  ■ocietiea- Women'*  trad* 
union*- Uther  featurea  of  trade  union*,  ■otue  obaolete. 


AlthouKh,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  pre- 
oedinK  chapter,  the  very  nature  of  a  well- 
organi/.pd  trade  union  shows  its  fltiiess  for 
the  work  it  has  to  do,  yet  it  will  be  satis- 
factory il  it  can  lie  shown  that  they  do 
their  work  well.  The  question  then  arises 
— Have  they  been  successful?  Do  they 
carry  out  the  objects  fur  whi«h  they  are 
formwl  ? 

IM  ns  ask,  in  the  first  place,  "Have 
thoy  succeeded  in  raising  wages  in  the 
past?" 

It  seems  so  natural  that  combination 
should  raise  wages,  that  one  is  amazed 
such  a  position  can  be  questioned.  As 
things  at  present  are,  the  relations  between 
employers  aud  employed  imply  a  pecuniary 
bargain.  Can  it  be  doubted  that  when 
workmen  combine  they  are  mack  more 
likely  to  adjust  the  bargain  on  more  favor- 
able  terms  to  themselves  than  if  they  had 
no  po>ver  of  organised  action^  Those  even 
who  are  unwilling  to  admit  the  efficacy  of 
trade  unions  cannot  help  showing  at  times 
— unconsciously,  perhaps — that  they  have 
an  opposite  conviction ;  and  some  time 
ago  oue  who  is  least  friendly  to  trade  or- 
ganiz  itions  pointed  out  that  the  secret  ot 
the  attachment  ol  the  Southern  States  of 
America  to  slave  labor  "lay  chietly  in  the 
obtaining  of  labor  at  will  at  a  rate  which 
cannot  Wc  controlled  by  any  combination. ' ' 

Now,  in  looking  over  the  history  of  trade 
nnio»8,  no  impartial  observer  can  doubt 
for  one  momeut  that  the  employers  have 
been  gradually  ginng  way.  In  1845,  Mr. 
W.  Phornt^m  had  already  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  result  ot  trade  unions 
had  iM^n  to  raise  wages.  In  the  baking 
trade  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  and 
other  Scotch  towoH,  before  1846,  the  men 
were  1  ittle  lietter  than  vassals.  They  lived 
with  their  employers,  in  cheerless  celibacy  ; 
they  were  locked  in  their  rooms  at  nine 
o'clock  at  nights ;  and,  in  short,  being 
driven  by  oppression  into  union,  they 
raised  wages  20  per  cent,  improved  their 
oondition,  and  are  now  a  sober  and  steady 


claM  of  men.  In  1R73  the  General  Alli- 
ance of  Operative  House  I'ainters  askeil 
for  higher  wages,  and  the  answer  was  an 
increase  in  the  rate  of  pay  amounting  to 
£8000  a  year.  I'he  annual  reiwrt  for  1873 
of  the  Amalgamated  Society  of  Tailors 
shows  an  increase  of  wages  amounting  to 
£40,000  per  annum,  while  the  sum  spent 
in  strikes  and  lockouts  amounted  to  only 
£549  12«.  9d.  A  great  deal  of  the  increase 
is  directly  traceable  to  strikea  or  threats  of 
strikes;  though,  of  course,  part  may  be 
dne  to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  conn- 
try.  Htill,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the 
men  woald  have  shared  in  that  prosperity 
had  it  not  been  for  the  existence  of  the 
union. 

Hardly  a  single  report  ia  iMucd  by  the 
trade  onions  that  doe<«  not  call  attention 
to  the  rise  in  wages  which  by  combined 
action  has  been  brought  almnt.  Through- 
out  the  length  aud  breadth  of  the  land  the 
trade  unions  have,  during  the  past  thirty 
or  forty  years,  forced  wages  up,  and  when 
wages  have  fallen,  the  fall  has  not  been  to 
the  low  point  they  were  at  before  the  rise 
began.  It  wonld  therefore  be  tedious  to 
fill  page  after  page  with  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence to  prove  what  is  nniversallT  acknowl- 
edged. Wages  have  risen.  That  is  the 
great  fact.  The  principal  if  not  the  only 
point  npon  which  discussion  arises  is  aa  to 
whether  or  not  the  trade  unions  have  as- 
sisted to  bring  about  that  state  of  afifairs. 
One  thing  is  certain,  the  employers  are 
not  authorities  on  the  question.  They  are 
too  crotchety.  One  of  their  great  argu- 
ments against  trade  unions  is  that  they 
fail  in  their  object,  that  they  do  not  suc- 
ceed in  raising  wages ;  while  with  their 
next  breath  they  excuse  themselves  to  the 
public  for  the  high  price  of  coal,  by  say- 
ing "it  is  the  unions  raise  the  price  of 
labor."  Perhaps  it  would  be  ns  well  if 
they  remembered  the  experience  of  the 
past,  when  out  of  eighty  strikes  for  advance 
of  wages  forty-three  were  successful,  seven 
donbtAil,  aud  only  thirty  unsuccessfal. 


t  ■•/ 


22 


tf  I 


How  nuich  of  the  ri»e  in  wagof  in  due  to 
the  dirtct  m-tion  of  trailo  uuioHS,  how 
much  to  their  indirect  action,  and  how 
ranch  to  general  progress  and  prosperity, 
are  questions  that  it  is  dilHcnlt,  if  not  im- 
po8Sit)le.  to  answer.  ,V  table,  however,  by 
Mr.  GritFen,  whom  Mr.  John  Morley  de- 
scribes as  "singularly  cool  and  competent, " 
throws  a  little  light  upon  the  subject.  It 
is  OS  follows:— 

"Assuming  the  aggregate  income  of  the 
people  as  aiiout  TJOO  millions  now,  and 
that  the  wages  of  workingmer,  are  per 
head  twice  wliat  they  were,  the  a;4gregates 
in  184:{  and  at  the  present  time  would 
compare  as  follows  : — 


3  .  *  • 


|l;il  Lilies. 

5    i*    I       I 


CapttallHt  clagees  from  capital   IW 
WorkiiiK  income  In   Income-' 

tax  returns 90! 

Ditto  not  in  Income-tax  returns  235| 


Total SlSiiaoOi  1)85    130 


£ 
4U0 


180 
620 


210    110 

901  100 

3S5    160 


Thus  the  increase  of  what  is  known  as 
working-class  ineo'ue  in  the  aggregate 
was  greater  than  that  of  any  other  class, 
being  160  per  cent.,  while  the  return  to 
capital  and  the  return  to  what  are  called 
the  capitalist  classes,  whether  it  is  from 
capital  proper,  or,  as  Mr.  Gi£fen  maintains, 
ft  retnm  more  in  the  nature  of  wages,  had 
only  increased  about  100  per  cent. ' '  Can 
any  one  for  a  moment  doubt  that  the 
"extra"  60  per  cent,  that  fell  to  the  lot  of 
working  men  is  due  entirely  and  solely  to 
action  of  trade  unions  ?  Does  not  all  ex- 
perience show  that  the  capitalist  class  have 
ever  taken  as  much  as  they  could  ?  Had 
it  not  been  far  a  resisting  influence,  and 
the  only  resisting  influence  is  the  trade 
anion,  the  figures  would  have  been  re- 
versed. The  capitalists  would  have  gained 
an  increase  of  160  per  cent.,  the  operatives 
of  100.  Perhaps  the  discrepancy  would 
have  been  much  greater.  For  my  own 
part,  I  believe  that  trade  unions  are  to  be 
credited  with  more  than  60  per  cent,  in- 
crease, because  it  wonld  be  easy  to  show 
that  Mr.  Gifien  has  underrated  the  general 
increase  ;*  and,  as  I  have  already  argued, 
bat  for  the  action  of  the  unions  there 
would  have  been  very  little  advance  of 
wages  indeed,  nearly  all  of  the  increase 
falling  to  the  capitalist.     At  any  rate,  60 

•  "If  we  had  commenced  about  twenty  to 
twenty-five  years  ago,  we  should  have  l>een  able 
to  show  a  very  great  improvement  since  that 
time ;  while  at  that  date  also,  as  compared  with 
an  earlier  period,  a  greater  improvement  would 
have  been  apparent. — Mr.  Omen,  in  the  pam- 
phlet already  quoted. 


per  cent,  of  the  160  per  rent,  increase  mnst 
be  attribute*!,  and  atiribnttd  us  it  nnni- 
mum,  to  the  direct  artiun  of  the  trade 
unions. 

Although  the  question,  "To  what  extent 
is  a  ri.se  in  wugt-s  due  to  the  action  uf  a 
trade  union?"  may  be  difHcult  to  answer, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  some  portion 
of  any  particular  advance  is  olten  tlueto 
that  influence.  Where  are  the  emplnvers 
who  ever  came  forward  and  advanced 
wages  unasked  ?  t  They  are  few  and  lar 
between,  and  what  chance  of  improving 
his  condition  would  any  laborer  have  who 
struck  singly  ?  Very  little  chance  indeed. 
Now  labor,  unlike  a  commodity,  wilt  not 
keep.  Once  gone,  it  is  gone  forever.  A 
day  idly  spent  is  a  day  lost ;  and  as  the 
capitalist  can  wait  for  labor  longer  than 
the  laborer  can  wait  for  wages,  there  is  a 
natural  tendency  to  depress  wages.  Then 
why  do  they  not  fall?  Is  it  not  becnnse 
of  the  counteracting  power  of  the  union? 
When  bricklayers  from  Liverpool  went  to 
work  on  the  new  town  hall  at  St.  Helen's, 
they  fonnd  men  in  the  same  trade  as  them- 
selves getting  higher  wages  than  they  were. 
They  instantly  demanded  to  be  placed  on 
the  same  footing  as  their  more  fortnnate 
brethren.  The  employers  refused  to  ac- 
cede to  the  request,  for  reasons  b«»t  known 
to  themselves.  A  strike  ensued,  and  after 
a  short  delay  the  men  accomplished  their 
object.  Now,  is  there  one  sane  man  Within 
the  fonr  seas  of  Great  Britain  who  will 
deny  that  in  this  case  the  Liverpool  brick- 
layers obtained  their  advance  by  united 
action  ? 

This  instance  shows  something  more. 
It  shows  how,  with  a  widely  spread  union, 
the  rates  of  wages  in  varions  towns  may  be 
known — as  in  large  unions  they  are — and 
the  highest  rate  demanded.  Had  the  St. 
Helen's  bricklayers  belonged  to  the  same 
union  as  those  from  Liverpool,  the  differ- 
ence in  the  rate  of  wages  in  two  towns  so 
near  each  other  would  have  been  known 
and  equalized,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
lower  rate  would  have  been  raised.  But 
how  can  men  all  over  the  country  ascertain 
what  their  labor  is  worth  in  variotu  parts 
of  the  country  unless  they  act  upon  the 
principle  of  association,  and  agree  npon  an 
organization  that  encourages  an  inter- 
change of .  information  between  ditterent 
parts  of  the  country?  When,  too,  the 
highest  rate  of  wages  is  discovered ,  what 
wonld  be  the  good  of  the  discovery  unless 
there  was  a  union  strongenongh  to  enforce 
the  demands  it  is  desired  to  make  ?  If  not 
the  only    way,    at   any    rate  the  easiest 


t  In  the  Newcastle  englneerinBr  strike,  the 
employers  adLuitted  that  the  condition  nf  trade 
from  the  beginning  permitted  an  advance  of 
wages;  yet  no  advance  was  proposed,  till  the 
preMure  of  the  trade  union*  waa  brouKbt  to 


bear. 


^:i' 


1 


» 


J  rent.  inciviiHf  niiut 
frihntKl  ur>  n  iiiini- 
|action  of  the  trHde 

in,  "To  what  extent 
to  the  acaion  of  a 
(iifriciilt  t<>  answer, 
J)t  that  sorae  portion 
|nce  is  oiten  due  to 
are  the  einpluverH 
lard    am)    nrlvnnced 
ey  are  liew  and  lur 
lance  of  improving 
(y  laborer  have  who 
ittlo  chance  indeed, 
inimodity,  will  not 
.8  gone  forever.     A 
ij  lost;  and  as  the 
labor  longer  than 
>r  wages,  there  is  a 
tprees  wages.     Then 
Is  it  not   becnnse 
»wer  of  the   union  ? 
Liverpool   went  to 
hall  at  St.  Helen's, 
same  trade  as  t  hem- 
ages  than  they  were, 
led  to  be  plared  on 
leir  more  fortunate 
yera  refused    to  ac- 
reasons  best  known 
ce  ensued,  and  after 
accomplished    their 
me  sane  man  >«ithin 
*t  Britain  who  will 
the  Liverpool  brick- 
advance  by  united 

78  something  more, 
videly  spread  union, 
arious  towns  n>ay  be 
aions  they  are — and 
nded.     Had  the  St. 
ilonged  to  the  same 
liverpool,  the  di£fer- 
;e8  in  two  towns  so 
I  have  been  known 
1  other  words,   the 
I  been  raised.     Bnt 
he  country  ascertain 
>r(h  in  various  parts 
they  act  upon  the 
,  and  agree  upon  an 
i:ourages    an    inter- 
between  dirterent 
?    When,   t^)o,  the 
8  discovered,  what 
he  discovery  unless 
igenough  to  enforce 
id  to  make?     If  not 
ly    rate  the  easiest 


Cdneerinar  strike,  the 
he  condition  nf  trade 
iilte<l  an  advance  of 
as  proposfid,  till  the 
Ions  waa   brouKbt  (» 


method  of  ascertaining  the  "real  value" 
of  labor  is  by  putting  pressure  on  the  capi- 
talist. Nearly  all  the  present  wages  rates 
are  baoed  on  no  real  principle  of  value. 
Any  of  the  rates  are  very  much  below  the 
real  value  of  the  work  done,*  and  repre- 
sent the  amount  which  the  workman  has 
been  able  to  squeeze  out  of  his  employer, 
not  the  full  amount  to  which  he  is  entitled, 
such  amount  being  all  above  int^'rest  on 
capital,  a  charge  for  deterioration  of  plant, 
'cost  of  supervision  and  cost  of  conduct  of 
business.  In  bringing  pressure  to  bear 
upon  the  capitalist,  the  union  is  only  doing 
-what  merchants  and  manufacturers  do  to 
find  out  the  price  nf  the  commodii.ies  in 
which  they  deal.  For  two  years  the  at- 
tention of  the  colliery  proprietors  was 
chiefly  engrossed  with  "putting  on  the 
screw"  in  greater  or  less  twists  at  a  time, 
nntil  they  found  a  limit  to  the  disgorging 
powers  of  the  consuronr,  and  that  limit 
was  far  beyond  the  wildest  demands  ever 
made  by  any  class  of  men  who  have  ever 
struck  for  an  advance  of  wages,  f 

But,  say  thos*  opposed  to  trade  unions, 
yrages  would  ultimately  rise  'when  profits 
rose,  without  any  combination  on  the  part 
of  the  workmen.  With  a  desire  to  concede 
as  much  as  possible  to  our  opponents,  let 
us  grant  this  by  no  means  self-evident 
proposition.  There  is  still  the  fact  that 
the  influence  of  the  union  obtains  the  ad- 
vance sooner  than  would  other'wise  be  the 
case,  and  that  is  a  gain  to  the  men,  and 
another  proof  that  the  societies  are  able  to 
bring  about  the  icsults  which  it  is  their 
object  to  effect .  If  there  'were  no  combina- 
tion amongst  the  men,  and  if  profits  were 
rising,  the  employers  would  pocket  the  en- 
hanced profits,  until  an  imperious  neces- 
sity obliged  them  to  yield  some  portioc  to 
the  starving  dependents  upon  their  gener- 
osity and  benevolence. 

Not,  only,  then,  is  a  union  able  to  bring 
about  a  rise  in  wages  sooner  than  would 
otherwise  be  the  case,  but  it  is  also  able  to 
wrest  from  the  employers  a  larger  share  of 
the  profits  than  they  would  concede  to  a 
request  unsupported  by  the  power  to  en- 
force it. 

"Still  more,"  says  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill, 
"might  poor  laborers  who  have  to  do  with 
rich  employers  remain  long  'without  the 
amount  of  wages  which  the  demand  for 
their  labor  would  justify,  unless,  in  ver- 
nacular phrase,  they  stood  out  of  it ;  and 
how  can  they  stand  out  for  terms  without 
organized  concert?    What  chance  would 

*  The  wages  of  the  agricultural  laborer  is  an 
example  of  this. 

t  In  Manchester  the  carpenters  are  paid  a 
halfpenny  per  hour  more  than  in  Liverpool. 
The  reason  is  stated  to  be  that  "in  Manchester 
both  employers  and  employed  are  thoroughly 
organixed,  and  an  amicable  relationrtiip  exista 
between  them ;  in  Liverpool  they  are  oompara- 
ttreljr  diaorgMiiMd?'      •^  '  *" 


any  laborer  have  who  struck  singly  for  an 
advance  of  wages?  How  could  he  ever 
know  whether  the  state  of  the  market  ad- 
mitted of  a  rise,  except  by  consultation 
with  his  fellows  naturally  leading  to  con- 
certed action?"  The  only  instance  Ihat 
has  come  under  the  notice  of  the  author  of 
employers  being  eager  to  aid  a  trade  union 
was  recently,  when,  for  their  own  advan- 
tage, they  wished  to  see  the  resnscitation 
of  the  Macclesfield  silk  weavers'  union,  as 
a  protection  to  themselves  from  each  other 
by  equalizing  wages. 

Even  if  n  strike  fail,  it  not  only  shows 
that  the  men  have  capacity,  willingD<  &», 
and  power  to  combine  in  snrh  a  way  that 
masters  will  otte n  hesitate  ere  they  resume 
the  encounter  ;  bnt,  paradoxical  as  it  nay 
appear,  an  nnsnrcessfnl  strike  often  src- 
ceeds.     Suppose  there  has  been  a  long  and 
terrible  dispute,  like  the  one  in  the  agri- 
cultural districts,  and  that  those  engaged 
in  it  have  been  obliged  to  return  to  work 
withont  the  advance  which  was  at  first 
sought.     Can  it  be  doubted  that  in  the 
case  referred  to,  the  praiseworthy  pertinac- 
ity of  the  agricultural    laborers   created 
such  an  impression  that  the  farmers  will 
think  twice  before  locking  them  out  whrn 
nc.t  an  advance  is  asked,  especially  as  all 
right-feeling  and  right-thinking  men  ac- 
knowledge that  the  circumstances  of  the 
world  are  inconsistent  with  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  English  agricultural  laborer 
in  the  condition  which  has  hitherto  been 
his?    Or  take    the   case  of  the    London 
builders,  when  10,000  of  thrm  gave  up 
£325.000  without  at  first  getting  anything 
for  their  money,  but  after  they  had  re- 
turned to  work  "had  their  wages  raised  by 
successive  steps  from  an  average  of  2&8.  to 
one  of  308.,  and  that  without  being  obliged 
to   resort  to  a  general  strike,  or  to  any 
strike  on  a  large  scale."    All  their  recent 
strikes  have  ^n  what  are   termed  sec- 
tional, and  in  many  instances  they  have 
not  had  to  strike,  but  have  got  what  they 
wanted  by  simply   making  it  clear  that 
they  were  prepared  to  strike  unless  they 
got  it.    Chiefly  by  this  means  it  is  that 
they  have  succeeded  in  getting  5s.  a  week, 
or  20  per  cent.,   added  to  their  wages. 
Now,   5s.   a  week  is  £13  a  year,  which, 
multiplied  by  10,000,  comes  to  £130,0(i0, 
or  40  per  cent,   on  the  original  outlay, 
which  now  yielding  such  interest,  must  he 
admitted  to  have  been  really,  in  spite  of 
first  appearances,  a  very  tolerable  invest- 
ment. 

Indeed,  almost  the  whole  of  the  great 
failures  on  the  part  of  the  men,  when 
looked  at  in  the  same  way,  show  that  all 
was  not  lost — nor,  indeed,  so  much  as  was 
supposed.  "The  same  dismal  uniformity, 
the  same  miserable  monotony  of  defeat," 
as  an  ironmaster  once  called  a  long  series 
of  strikes,  would  indeed  be  gloomy  if  it 


J) 


24 


coald  not  be  shown  tbat,  aa  in  the  great 
Montrom's  campaign,  Argyll  often  gained 
th«  victory,  bat  failed  to  reap  its  fmits. 
The  great  strike  of  the  Manchester  spin- 
ners in  185!),  when  jE25(),0(tO  of  wages  were 
forfeited  apparently  to  no  purpose  ;  a  simi- 
lar loss  when  in  the  following  year  30,000 
Hpinners  at  Ashton  and  Staleybridge 
struck  work  ;  the  dispute  on  the  Tyneand 
the  Wear  in  1832,  when  thonsands  of  pit- 
men held  out  with  heroic  endurance;  the 
strike  of  the  Manchester  baildets  in  1833, 
when  JE70,000  of  wages  were  sacrificed  ; 
the  Preston  strikes  in  1830  and  1864,  in 
the  former  of  which  thirteen  weeks'  idle- 
ness cost  the  men  £57,200 — and  in  the 
latter  there  was  the  terrible  suflering  of 
tt<^  ven teen  thousand  per  sons  foregoing  £420, - 
O'tO  of  wage.4  for  thirty  -six  weeks  ;  the  en- 
gineers' strike  in  1853,  which  lasted  fifteen 
weeks,  and  in  which  £43,000  of  wages  were 
lo«t;  the  strike  in  the  I^ndon  building 
tr.ide  in  1860 ;  that  of  the  ironworkers  in 
Staffordshire,  and  that  in  the  North  in 
18(15  ;  tliat  of  the  London  tailors  in  1867  ; 
and  that  of  the  South  Wales  miners  in 
1S73,  who  sacrificed  £750,000;  to  say 
nothing  of  the  disputes  in  the  eastern 
counties,  and  the  numerous  disputes  and 
lock-outs  which  have  recently  dotted  the 
island;  here  surely  (and  these  are  but 
samples)  is  a  list  of  (failures  sufficient  to 
■ftitmp  out  the  life  of  unionism,  because  in 
the  cases  mentioned  the  men  had  to  give  in 
aad  return  to  work  on  terms  sometimes  the 
same,  often  worse,  and  seldom  better,  than 
those  against  which  they  struck.  Strikes, 
however,  are  sometimes  of  that  nature  of 
which  it  can  be  said,  "  It  is  the  battle  only, 
and  not  the  victory,  that  can  be  dwelt  npon 
with  advantage."  The  men  often  appear 
to  have  failed  disastronsly.  But  the  fact 
is,  they  were  not  failures  entirely.  They 
were  defeats  in  which  the  victors  got  all 
the  glory,  the  defeated  all  the  profit.  The 
employers  rush  to  the  fight  with  the  dash 
of  cavalry,  and  force  the  men  to  capitu- 
late ;  bat  between  their  victoriee  they  are 
constantly  giving  way  to  the  men.  The 
wcrkmen  seem  fully  conscionsof  this ;  and 
in  a  printers'  dispute  in  Liverpool,  a  few 
years  ago,  men  tamed  out  with  their  fel- 
lows when  the  result  of  the  former's  doing 
so  was  to  strike  for  lower  wages.  Such  was 
their  faith  in  the  ultimate  advantages  of 
unionism,  and  eventa  showed  that  they 
had  not  miscalcalated.  As  Mr.  Thornton 
puts  it,  "Dnring  nearly  half  a  century 
all  signal  triumphs  have  been  on  one  side, 
all  sabstantial  success  on  the  other." 

It  is  not,  therefore,  just  to  say  that  a 
strike  having  cost  £700,000  or  £800,000, 
and  having  failed  to  obtain  that  for  which 
it  strove,  is  necessarily  a  failure.  The  ad- 
vance may  come  later  on.  Nor  can  it  be 
said  that  a  strike  that  has  cost  £20,000,  and 
raised  wages  say  only  £2,000,  has  failed. 


The  strike  will  certainly  have  been  local ; 
the  rise  is  almost  certain  to  be  general.  A 
strike,  too,  in  one  portion  of  the  country 
often  enables  men  to  obtain  an  advance  of 
wages  in  another  portion  without  recourse 
to  the  final  appeal.  The  funds  of  the 
union  are  thus  saved,  and  often  a  large 
advance  is  obtained  at  a  very  small  cost,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  tailors  in  1873,  who,  as 
already  mentioned,  obtained  an  advance 
amounting  to  £40,000  per  annum,  at  a  cost 
of  only  £694  12«  9d. 

What,  then,  sometimes  appears  an  in- 
efiectual  strike  often  proves  to  be  one  of 
great  efiect.  It  must  Ite  remembered,  too, 
that  non-unionists  often  reap  to  some  ex- 
tent the  advantages  of  the  unionistp  In- 
deed, in  most  instances  they  enjoy  ull  the 
benefits  of  an  advance  brought  about  by 
the  action  of  the  union,  and  it  is  for  them 
to  settle  with  their  own  consciences  the 
honesty  of  reaping  advantages,  to  obtain 
which  they  have  contributed  nothing. 
When  they  do  not  obtain  the  whole  of  the 
advantages  of  a  rise,  they  are  pretty  sure 
to  obtain  some  advance,  as  when  the 
"standard"  of  wages  has  been  raised  it 
drags  after  it  a  general  increase  all  round. 
It  appears  from  this  that  union  workmenare 
perfectly  justified  in  refusing  to  work  with 
non-union  men,  though  the  practice  of 
doing  so  is  far  from  general.  The  latter 
have  done  nothing  to  raise  or  sustain 
wages,  and  ought  not  to  expect  to  enjoy 
the  results  of  the  sacrifices,  the  moral 
courage,  and  the  contributions  of  the 
unionists.  Whenever  nnion  workmen  do 
work  with  non-union  men  it  shows  that 
unselfishness  and  generosity — tbat  sinking 
of  self  for  others — which  are  characteristic 
of  almost  all  unions.  It  is  worth  men- 
tioning, too,  that  other  trades  besides  the 
one  "on  strike"  are  often  benefited  by  an 
ad  vance  in  the  wages  of  those  * '  on  strike. ' ' 
Thus,  if  the  "puddlers"  receive  an  a«l- 
vance  of  wiwes,  the  hammermen,  the  rol- 
lers, and  the  laborera  are  pretty  certain  to 
be  similarly  treated.  It  is  tiius  seen  that 
the  material  advantages  of  a  strike  cannot 
be  reckoned  by  taking  the  cost  of  the  strike 
and  the  gain  in  wages,  and  substracting 
one  from  the  other. 

It  maybe  said — and  very  justly — that, 
if  the  general  tendency  of  trade  unionism 
be  to  raise  wages,  then,  where  there  are 
no  unions,  wages  should  be  lower  than 
ordinary.  This  is  exactly  the  case.  Un- 
fortunately, the  non-unionists  keep  no 
statistics,  and  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain 
the  exact  wages  they  are  paid.  It  is,  how- 
ever, generally  known  that  the  worst  paid 
trades  in  the  kingdom  are  those  which 
have  no  unions.  The  evidence  of  the  men 
thsmselves  is  valuable  on  this  point,  be- 
cause, unless  they  felt  they  received  an  ad- 
vanti^,  they  would  leave  the  union.  What 
the  men  want  is  high  wages  for  little  work, 


25 


have  been  local ; 
to  he  general.  A 
911  of  the  c-oantry 
tin  an  advance  of 

withont  reconrae 
lie  funds  of  the 
ind  often  a  large 
rery  small  coHt,  as 

in  1873,  who,  as 
tined  an  advance 
r  annum,  at  a  cost 

appears  an  in- 
oves  to  be  one  of 
remembered,  too, 
reap  to  some  ez- 
e  unionists.     In- 
hey  enjoy  ull  the 
»ronght  abont  by 
And  it  is  for  them 
1  consciences  the 
ntages,  to  obtain 
ributed    nothing, 
the  whole  of  the 
f  are  pretty  sure 
ce,   as  when  the 
IS  been  raised  it 
icrease  all  round, 
inion  worknienare 
sing  to  work  with 
the  practice  of 
leral.     The  latter 
raise  or  sustain 
I  expect  to  enjoy 
ifices,   the  moral 
ributions    of  the 
lion  workmen  do 
len  it  shows  that 
lity — that  sinking 
are  characteristic 
[t  is  worth  men- 
trades  besides  the 
Q  benefited  by  an 
hose  "on strike." 
"  receive  an  ad- 
imermen,  the  rol- 
I  pretty  certain  to 
is  thns  seen  that 
)f  a  strike  cannot 
B  cost  of  the  strike 
and  snbstracting 

'ery  justly— that, 
r  trade  nnionism 
where  there  are 
1  be  lower  than 
y  the  case.  Un- 
ionists keep  no  ' 
sible  to  ascertain 
;>aid.  It  is,  how- 
\,t  the  worst  paid 
Bu«  those  which 
ience  of  the  men 
n  this  point,  be- 
y  received  an  ad- 
the  union.  What 
98  for  little  work, 


ae  much  wages  as  they  can  get  for  as  little 
work  as  they  can  do,  and  if  their  unions 
could  not  give  those  benefits  to  them,  they 
would  cease  'to  support  them.  "  I  have 
been  a  worker,"  says  one  operative,  "some- 
thing like  forty-lour  years.  For  twenty 
years  of  that  period  I  have  been  employed 
iu  erecting  machinery  in  difierent  parts  of 
the  country,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying,  wherever  we  find  union  principles 
ignored  a  low  rate  of  wages  prevails,  and 
the  reverse  where  organization  is  perfect. 
The  most  approved  remedy  for  low  wages 
is  combination. "  • 

An  advanceof  wages,  however,  is  not  the 
only  object  of  a  trade  union,  nor  the  sole 
purpose  of  a  strike.  Sometimes  the  men 
demand  shorter  hours.  To  work  a  less 
number  of  hours  for  the  same  amount  of 
wages  is  naturally  attractive  to  the  work- 
man. He  not  only  sees  that  such  an  ar- 
rangement gives  him  more  time  for  recrea- 
tion and  for  the  enjoyment  of  home  com- 
forts— for  billiards,  books  or  beer — withont 
calling  on  his  wife  to  "pinch,  cut,  and  con- 
trive," but  that  the  reduction  of  hours 
causes  more  of  bis  fellow-workmen  to  be 
employed.  The  demand  for  a  commodity 
being  the  same,  and  the  number  of  work- 
ing hours  diminished,  more  men  must  be 
employed  to  produce  the  same  amount  of 
work  in  less  time.  Men  who  were  forced 
to  be  idle  are  thus  provided  with  employ- 
ment. These  additional  workmen  become 
spenders  as  well  as  producers,  and  the  ad- 
TEUitages  of  that  he  knows  to  consist  in  a 
general  improvement  all  round.  In  thus 
benefiting  himself,  therefore,  he  is  benefit- 
inghisclass.  No  action  of  the  trade  unionists 
has  been  crowned  with  such  signal  success  as 
that  taken  to  bring  abont  the  reduction  of 
hours.  The  State  itself  watched  the  strain- 
ing eflforts  that  were  being  made,  both  re- 
cently and  in  years  gone  by ;  and  when 
there  was  a  sign  of  tottering  or  failure, 
came  to  its  assistance.  "The  demand  is 
against  the  laws  of  political  economy," 
cry  the  employers.  "We  ask  a  blessing," 
reply  the  men,  "but  are  not  strong  enough 
to  force  it  "  So  Parliament  steps  in  and 
gives  a  Factory  Act ;  just  as  when  the 
men  (not  the  employers)  complained  that 
their  union  was  not  strong  enough  to  bettor 
the  condition  of  miners  when  underground, 
the  House  of  Commons  passed  a  "Mines 
Regulation  Act."  The  support  which  the 
demands  of  the  unions  are  receiving  from 
Parliament  is  a  very  significant  phenome- 
non in  the  History  of  England. 

What  is  very  surprising  is  that  the  em- 
ployers believe  that  they  can  get  more  work 
out  of  a  man  when  they  work  him  to  death. 
They  forget  that  it  is  not  the  miles  one 
travels,  but  the  pace  that  kills.  They 
ignore  the  doctrine  of  Adam  Smith,  that 
"the  man  who  works  so  moderately  as  to 
be  able  to  work  constantly,  not  only  pre- 


serves his  health  the  longest,  but  in  the 
course  of  a  year  executes  the  greatest  quan- 
tity of  work."  Capitalists  do  not  pursue 
such  a  policy  in  regard  to  their  hordes. 
The  fact  is,  they  are  not  thinking  of  their 
nten.  They  are  brooding  over  their  valu- 
able machinery  standing  i<lle,  and  calcu- 
lating what  it  would  bring  them  if  it  went 
on  working  a  few  hours  longer.  The  manu- 
facturer sitting  in  his  counting-house, 
within  the  sound  of  the  murmur  of  his 
machinery  and  the  chinking  of  his  engine, 
bums  to  himself  at  each  clack  of  the  fly- 
wheel, "  So  much  for  roe,  so  much  forme." 
And  when  he  beholds  his  "  hands"  leaving 
for  home  on  a  summer  evening  while  it  is 
yet  light,  and  no  longer  bearH  the  heavy 
beat  of  the  lieam  or  the  rattle  ot  the  shut- 
tle, he  looks  upon  the  stillness  as  the 
symbol  of  his  loss.  Such  men  must  be 
very  miserable  on  Sundays. 

It  is  now,  however,  a  well  ascertained 
fact  that,  within  certain  limits,  more  work 
is  done  as  a  rule  where  there  is  a  proHpect 
of  an  early  cessation  from  work  than  when 
men  know  that  they  are  doomed  to  Mveral 
hours  of  continuous  employment.  A  few 
years  ago  the  average  day's  work  in  Eng- 
land was  ton  hours.  On  the  Continent  it 
was  twelve,  in  Russia  sixteen  or  seventeen  ; 
and  yet  it  is  calculated  that  two  English 
mowers  would  do  in  a  day  the  work  of  six 
Russian  ones.  Russian  factory  operatives 
worked  seventy-five  hours  in  the  week, 
when  those  in  England  worked  only  sixty, 
yet  the  work  of  the  former  was  only  one- 
fifth  of  that  of  the  latter.  When  the 
average  working  time  of  a  miner  in  South 
Wales  wastwelve  hours  a  day,  those  in  the 
North  of  England  worked  only  seven,  yet 
the  cost  of  getting  coals  in  Aberdare  was 
25  per  cent,  more  than  in  Northumber- 
land. As  has  been  well  said,  "The  work- 
man who  cannot  tire  himself  in  eight  hours 
is  not  worth  his  salt." 

In  showing  the  «£Bcacy  of  trade  unions, 
and  in  maintaining  the  justice  of  their  de- 
mands, it  must  not  be  thought  that  the 
author  imagines  thev  never  err.  No  one 
will  pretend  to  deny  that  the  unions  have 
done  what  many  pf  opie  do  not  approve, 
and  which  they  themselves  on  calmer  re- 
flection, do  not  approve.  But  this,  as  Mr. 
Bright  says,  only  shows  they  are  not  im- 
miionlato.  and  that  their  wisniom,  like  that 
of  other  classes,  is  not  perfect.  One  is  tired 
of  hearing  that  the  result  of  trade  unions 
was  Broadhead,  Crookes,  and  Hallam  ;  that 
its  means  were  rulf>anif>m  ard  mnrdi  r  ;  its 
ends  never  inijuired  into.  These  men  were 
not  the  result  of  unionism,  but  of  the  at- 
tempt to  crush  unionism.*    The  laws  of 

*  Broadhead  himiielf  said  to  the  Royal  Com- 
mlMionera:  "If  the  law  would  only  frive  the 
unions  Bome  power  to  recover  contributiona, 
without  having  recourse  to  such  measures,  there 
would  be  no  more  heard  of  them." 


.^ 


w 

I 
; 

i 


riii 


r  ■  '■■■ ' 


the  conntrj  made  all  nnionists  conspira- 
tors. Even  the  simplest  actions,  which 
are  now  allowable,  were  illegal,  and 
when  what  is  morally  right  is  decided  by 
tribunals  to  bo  legally  wrong,  the  culprit 
has  more  respect  tor  hiniHcll  than  he  has 
for  tho  law.  Unionism,  however,  needsno 
defence  here  on  that  head.  The  press  may 
croak  about  tbe  three  miscreants  above 
named  until  it  is  hoarse  ;  it  can  have  little 
effect  upon  an  institution  which  has  pro- 
duced such  men  as  Thomas  Burt,  Keury 
Broadhurst,  William  Allan,  John  Burnett, 
Joseph  Arch,  and  John  Kane. 

At  the  same  time  the  unions,  and  espe- 
cially the  union  secretaries,  have  a  very 
difflitult  task  to  perform.  The  average 
British  workman  is  not  yet  sufficiently 
advanced  in  intelligence  to  apprehend  that 
wages  may  vary  in  two  ways.  His  union, 
it  is  imagined,  has  power  to  force  wages 
up  ;  he  is  loath  to  admit  that  it  cannot 
sometimes  resist  their  falling.  The  author 
once  sa.w  an  ironworker  who  had  been  dis- 
missed from  his  work  because  he  ho^l  been 
drinking  for  three  days  ;  and  the  stupid 
fellow  was  very  wroth  indeed  because  the 
union  secretary  would  not  order  a  strike 
on  acconnt  of  the  man's  dismissal.  ' '  I  pay 
my  money  to  t'  union,"  said  he,  "  for  pro- 
tection, and  this  is  how  you  serve  me." 
The  executive  of  a  union,  then,  has  to  be 
careful,  not  only  that  it  does  not  strike  un- 
less it  has  right  on  its  side,  but  it  has  to 
educate  the  men  to  the  same  opinion. 
The  workmen  have  to  be  taujjht  that 
they  must  not  attempt  to  obtain  from 
capital  impossible  concessions.  They  must 
only  strike  when  cessation  of  produc- 
tion means  loss  of  profit  to  the  masters.  For 
instance,  it  would  not  only  be  manifestly 
unjust  but  absurd  to  strike  for  higher 
wages  in  the  face  of  a  falling  market.  How 
ditBauit  it  is  to  impress  thisnpnn  tbe  men, 
the  union  secretary  knows  full  well.  Some- 
times the  men  cannot  see  the  force  of  the 
forbearance  which  is  urged  upon  them,  and 
in  their  ignorance  are  very  self-willfcK 

It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  greater  care 
than  formerly  is  taken  to  prevent  those 
strikes  which,  being  foolish,  were  always 
disastrous.  How  easily  this  may  be  done 
is  evident  from  the  practice  in  Fonie  tradfs 
of  keeping  complete  registers  in  which  tbe 
flactaatious  of  the  market  are  indicated, 
and  the  union  secretaries  are  as  well 
acquainted  with  the  price  of  cotton  and 
iron  as  the  masters.  Even  this,  however, 
is  not  always  sufficient,  and  tbe  employers 
show,  with  arguments  seemingly  plausible, 
that  their  profits  are  very  small.  The  men, 
however,  though  unable  to  point  out  tho 
fallacy  in  the  reasoning  opposed  to  them, 
nevertheless  are  aware  of  its  existence. 
"We  have  been  working  at  a  loss  for 
years,"  said  a  large  cotton  manufacturer 
to  the  union  secretary.     "Yes,"  was  the 


shrewd  reply,  "you  have  been  losing  yotv 
little  milhi  and  building  bigger  onen. ' '  Tte 
cotton-spinners  of  liolioa,  ia  Heptemher, 
1874,  sent  a  similar  reply  to  the  notice  ot 
a  reduction  of  wages  given  by  the  ma&ters. 
"The  operatives,"  said  the  reply,  "can- 
not judge  of  trade  from  your  standpoint. 
They  draw  conclusions  from  circumstantial 
evidence,  and  contend  that  the  princely 
fortunes  that  seem  to  be  amassed  around 
us  cannot  havearisen  from  an  nnrumunera- 
tive  business  ;  therefore  you  must  pardon 
them  if  itbe  difhcult  to  make  them  l)el)eve 
that  a  reduction  in  wages  is  called  for." 

It  is  certainly  a  fair  question  for  discus- 
sion whether  or  not  the  rate  of  wages  at 
the  present  day  is  as  high  as  itought  to  be, 
even  in  the  best  paid  trades.  Capit^il  is 
increasing  far  faster  than  population. 
When  the  latter  had  doubled  it.self  the 
former  hod  (quadrupled  itself.  It  seems, 
therefore,  merely  obedience  to  a  natural 
law  that  wages  should  rise;  and  if  trade 
unions  have  failed  ia  their  eflTorts  at  all, 
it  is  in  the  fact  that  while  they  have  raised 
wages,  they  have  not  raised  them  enough. 

War  is  essentially  puch  an  ancongenial 
state  of  affairs  that  no  surprise  can  be  felt 
that  the  combinations  of  employers  and  of 
men  endeavor  to  discover  some  means  of 
amicably  settling  disputes.  It  would  na- 
turally suggest  itself  to  minds  on  both 
sides  that  a  meeting  of  ambassadors  cr  le- 
legates  from  the  men  should  meet  similar 
officers  from  the  employers  to  talk  over  mat- 
ters. That  this  should  come  about  was 
prophesied  so  long  ago  as  1846  by  Mr.  John 
Bright,  who,  in  opposing  the  Factory  Bill, 
said  that  "the  working  classes  would 
every  day  become  more  and  more  powerful 
and  intelligent — not  by  violent  combina- 
tion or  collisions  with  their  employers,  but 
by  a  rational  union  amongst  themselves, 
by  reasoning  with  their  employers,  and  by 
the  co-operation  of  all  classes."  It  is  worth 
noting  that  the  initiatory  step  in  this  direc- 
tion was  taken  by  the  trades  unions.  The 
late  general  secretary  <•  f  the  Amalgamated 
Society  of  Engineers,  over  and  over  again, 
during  many  years,  advocated  what  is 
known  now  as  "arbitration,"  and  he  was 
ably  backed  in  his  efforts  by  Mr.  K.  Apple- 
garth,  former  secretary  of  the  Amalga- 
mated Society  of  Carpenters,  and  other 
well-known  trade  nnionists.  In  18G0  a 
board  of  arbitration  was  formed,  at  the 
rrqurd  nf  the  mm,  amongst  the  Nottingham 
lace-workers,  and  sir.ce  then  the  trades  of 
Staffordshire,  Middlcsborouph,  Cleveland, 
Bradford,  Sheffield,  and  other  places  have 
fol'owed  that  example. 

It  would  he  out  of  place  here  to  point 
out  upon  what  basis  arbitration  should  be 
formed.  Mr.  Rupert  Kettle,  in  his  pam- 
phlet, has  provided  ns  with  the  necessary 
forms  of  proceeding.  It  is  sufficient  to 
state  that  such  a  mode  of  settling  a  dis- 


m 


e  been  loHing  yonr 
bigger  ont'H. "  Tiie 
on,  in  September, 
y  to  the  uotice  oi 
_  en  by  the  masters. 
1  the  reply,  "can- 
your  standpoint, 
rom  circnmslttutial 
that  the  princely 
e  amassed  around 
•m  an  unrumiinera- 
you  must  puniou 
make  them  believe 
-sis called  for." 
uestion  for  discus- 
rate  of  wages  at 
.hasitoughttobe, 
trades.    Capital  is 
than    population, 
doubled  itself  the 
itself.     It  seems, 
ence  fo  a  natural 
rise;  and  if  trade 
leir  eflforts  at  all, 
le  they  have  raised 
sed  them  enough. 
:h  an  uncongenial 
urprise  can  be  felt 
employers  and  of 
er  some  means  of 
es.    It  would  na- 
0  minds  on  both 
mbassadors  or  le- 
ould  meet  sin>!tir 
« to  talk  over  mat- 
come  about  was 
1846  by  Mr.  John 
?  the  Factory  Bill, 
ig  classes   would 
md  more  powerful 
violent  combina- 
eir  employers,  but 
ongst  themselves, 
smployers,  and  by 
sses."  It  is  worth 
step  in  this  direc- 
ides  unions.    The 
the  Amalgamated 
T  and  over  again, 
vocated    what  is 
ion,"  and  he  was 
by  Mr.  K.  Apple- 
of  the  Amalga- 
nters,   and  other 
lists.     In  18C0  a 
s  formed,    of  the 
t  the  Nottingham 
len  the  trades  of 
onpb,  Cleveland, 
>ther  places  have 

ce  here  to  point 
fration  should  be 
itle,  in  his  pam- 
th  the  necessary 
is  sufiScient  to 
if  settling  a  dis- 


pute thf.nld  always  to  be  encouraged.  It 
18  very  uuicii  ctieaper  to  both  KideM  than  a 
strike  or  lock-out ;  and  it  does  not  leave 
behind  it  thut  "  immortal  hate  and  study 
of  leveuge"  which  are  the  nsult — in  the 
present  slate  ol  human  nature — of  a  long 
and  rancurcuM  struggle.  The  argument 
that  aibitration  is  useless  because  it  is 
not  binding  in  law,  is  neither  true  in  fact 
nor  jut<t  in  reason.  The  contract  which 
Mr.  Kettle  directs  to  be  signed  when  he 
acts  (IS  arbitrator,  i.s  us  binding  as  any  other 
coutnict,  but  if  it  were  not,  honor  has 
such  furre  in  our  public  code  of  morality 
that  both  masters  and  men  would  feel 
bound  to  obey  a  compact  solemnly  and 
freely  entered  into.  It  is  urjted  by  some 
that  arbitrations  are  unjust  in  principle, 
becuu»ie  they  are  founded  upon  a  fallacy, 
VIZ.,  that  they  can  fix  the  future  maiket 
price  of  labor,  irrespective  of  the  laws  of 
bupply  and  demand.  This,  however, 
is  not  so.  To  fix  the  price  of  lalx>r 
for  a  certain  time— for  so  many  weeks 
or  so  many  days — in  advance  is  not  de- 
ciding upon  a  future  price.  It  is  merely 
selling  a  larger  quantity  of  labor  at  to- 
day's price,  or,  as  Mr.  Kettle  puts  it,  of 
"today's  labor."  It  ia  generally  better 
in  all  commodities — better  for  both  buyer 
and  seller — to  deal  wholesale.  The  masters 
will  buy  no  more  of  labor  at  r  higher  price 
than  they  can  help ;  the  men  will  sell  as 
little  at  a  low  price  as  they  possibly  can. 
To  say  that  such  a  contract  as  the  one  here 
supposed  decides  the  future  price  of  labor 
is  no  more  true  than  that  a  man  agreeing 
to  supply  another  man  with  apples  at  two- 
pence a  pound  for  six  months  is  deciding 
upon  a  future  price  for  apples.  The  price 
is  to-day's  price,  the  ether  article  in  the 
agreement  relates  merely  to  the  times  of 
delivery.  Perhaps  in  arbitrations  may  be 
seen  what  will  one  day  become  an  impar- 
tial tribunal  for  determining  what  is  a 
"fair  day's  wages  for  a  f.. ir  day's  work," 
and  it  is  one  of  the  best,  as  it  is  one  of  the 
most  gratifying  proofs  of  the  efficacy  of 
trade  unions,  that  they  have  been  success- 
ful in  the  formation  of  boards  of  arbitra- 
tion, and  in  teaching  their  men  to  submit 
to  the  decisions  of  the  arbitrators. 

In  order,  however,  that  trade  unions 
may  lay  claim  to  fitness  for  carrying  out 
their  objects,  they  must  show  6<>mething 
more  than  that  they  are  able  to  conduct  a 
strike  to  a  successful  issue,  to  palliate  the 
evils  of  an  unsuccessful  strike,  and  to  suc- 
ceed in  occasionally  forming  a  board  of 
arbitration.  They  must  show  that  in  their 
very  nature  they  have  the  desire  and  the 
power  to  prevent  strikes.  It  is  gratifying 
to  be  able  to  state  that  in  this  respect, 
also,  the  trade  unions  are  eminently  suc- 
cessful. Indeed  economy,  if  nothing  else, 
would  dictate  such  a  policy.  The  execu- 
tories  of  trade  unions  have  been  taught  by 


[  experience  that,  e\cn  when  an  object  ia 
worth  striving  for,  u  strike  is  olten  'he 
worst,  and  alwajs  the  most  cxpen.-ji\o  way 
of  obtaining  it.  Strikes,  as  a  rule,  are  a 
iltrnirrrcuKort,  and  are  more  frequently  dis- 
countenanced by  the  general  secretiuy 
than  approved  if  by  him.  Indeed,  it  is  the 
boast  of  most  trade  union  secretaries  that 
they  have  prevented  more  strikes  thuu  they 
have  originated.  This  is  all  the  more 
creditable,  because  Fome  branch  or  other  is 
'alwujs  Urging  a  strike.  ''At  least  twenty 
times  in  us  many  months,"  wrote  Mr. 
Allan,  "we  have  recommended  that  a 
strike  should  not  take  place."  "About 
one-third,"  answered  Mr.  Appltgarth, 
when  questioned  on  the  subject  by  the 
lioyal Commissioners,  "of  the  applicati<  ns 
mode  to  us  to  strike  during  the  hist  few 
years  have  been  refused  ;  and  &Ir.  Mac- 
donald,  secretary  of  the  House  Painters' 
Alliance,  said — "  Our  parent  society  never 
originated  a  strike,  but  it  has  stopped 
many." 

The  accounts  of  the  various  trade  unions, 
also,  shows  how  reluctant  the  execiitories 
are  to  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  stiike. 
This  was  recently  pointed  out  by  Mr. 
George  Howell,  in  his  clever  and  concise 
article  in  the  Ctmtemporai  y  RevUw  of  Sep- 
tember, 1883,  and  by  Mr.  Frederic  Harri- 
son in  his  address  at  the  Trade  Union 
Congress  at  Nottingham  in  the  following 
mouth,  published  in  the  same  magazine 
in  November  last.  Attention  has  been 
already  called  to  this  subject,  but  the 
passage  will  bear  repetition.  "  Last  year, " 
says  Mr.  Frederic  Harrison,  "the  Amalga- 
mated Engineers,  with  an  income  of 
£124,000  and  a  cash  balance  of  i:tOH.(HiO, 
expended  iu  disputes  altogether,  including 
the  support  they  gave  to  other  trades,  £895 
only.  Thai  was  far  less  than  one  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  of  their  income.  Tbe  iron- 
fonnders  spent,  out  of  an  income  of  £42,- 
000,  £214  only  ;  and  the  Amalgamated 
Carpenters,  who  had  a  number  of  disputes 
and  been  engaged  in  strikes,  spent  £2.000 
out  of  £50,000,  which  was  only  four  per 
cent.  The  tailors,  with  £18,000,  spent 
£065  only;  and  the  stonemasons  with  11,- 
000  members  in  union,  spent  nothing  in 
strikes.  During  six  years  of  unexampled 
bad  trade,  and  reduction  of  wages,  and 
industrial  disturbance,  there  were  a  great 
many  strikes,  and  during  that  period  seven 
great  trade  societies  expended  in  the  settle- 
ment of  disputes  £162,000  only  out  of  a 
capital  of  nearl;^  £2,0(J0,000.  Last  year 
(1882)  these  societies,  with  an  aggregate 
income  of  £330,000  and  a  cash  balance  ol 
£360,000,  expended  altogether  in  mattersof 
dispute  about  £5,000,  which  was  not  two 
per  cent,  on  the  whole  of  their  income,  and 
not  one  per  cent,  on  their  total  available 
resources  for  the  year."  When  it  is  re- 
membered   that    99    per   cent,   of   these 


f 


^ 


HocietieH'  expenditares  were  for  benevolent 
and  proviclent  purpooes  and  one  per  cent, 
only  I'or  strikes,  it  ih  absurd  to  say  that  the 
cbiff  obje<!t  of  a  trade  union  is  to  foster 
trade  disputes. 

The  power  on  part  of  trade  unions  to 
prevent  strikes  increases  with  the  strength 
of  tlie  unions.  One  of  the  most  pleasing 
features  in  unionism  is  that  the  most 
powerful  associations  show  least  inclina- 
tion to  strike.  Where  the  power  to  do. 
evil  is  greatest,  the  will  to  use  that  power 
is  lea-tt.  Strength  has  \teen  accompanied 
liy  intelligence  and  discretion.  The  Ola^s- 
makers'  Society  is  compkosed  of  every  man 
in  the  trade,  and  has,  therefore,  sotospeak, 
an  entire  monopoly  ;  and  yet,  strange  and 
gratifying  to  relate,  they  seldom  have  any 
dispute.  The  masters  Imjuently  consult 
with  the  representatives  of  the  union,  and 
if  the  former  wish  to  engage  additional 
bauds  they  communicat«  with  the  latter, 
and  men  are  instantly  ibund.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  iacts  to  which  attention  is 
here  directed  will  besnfticient  to  remove 
the  hatred  to  unionism  of  those  who 
believe  that  trade  unions  are  the  cause  of 
strikes.  A  union  does,  indeetl,  render  a 
strike  possible,  but  it  cannot  cause  one. 
As  has  been  aptly  said,  to  maintain  that 
unions  are  the  cause  ui  't  -ikes,  is  the  same 
as  saying  that  gunpowder  is  the  cause  of 
war. 

There  were  strikes  before  there  were 
trade  unions,  and  it  is  a  fact  worth  re- 
membering that  the  most  violent  strikes 
have  lieen  where  unions  did  dot  exist. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  strongest  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  eiflcacy  of  traide 
unionism  is  the  rapidity  with  which  its 
principles  are  spreading  amongst  the 
workingmen.  If  unionism  did  not  benefit 
the  workingman — did  not,  that  is,  carry 
out  its  object — the  workingman  would 
leave  it ;  and  were  not  the  advantages  he 
receives  of  a  very  definite  and  material 
nature,  he  would  not  submit  to  the  heavy 
tax  upon  his  wages  which  his  society  de- 
mands— a  tax  considerably  more  than  half 
of  the  amount  demanded  from  him  by 
the  Imperial  Exchequer.  The  men,  how- 
ever, do  not  leave  the  union.  In  1859  it 
was  estimated  that  the  number  of  mem- 
bers of  trade  unions  was  600,000  ;  in  1870 
it  had,  it  was  calculated,  increased  to  800,- 
000.  In  1874  I  estimated  the  number  at 
1,500  000;  and  two  years  later  Mr.  George 
Howell  fixed  the  membership  of  the  differ- 
ent societies  at  1,600,000.  In  1870  Mr. 
Thornton  estimated  that  only  about  10 
per  cent,  of  the  workmen  were  members 
of  unions,  but  he  added  that  "at  the  pre- 
sent rate  of  proselytism  it  will  take  but  a 
few  years  more  for  all  eligible  workmen  in 
this  country  to  become  converts  to  union- 
ism, and  enrolled  members  of  trade  socie- 
ties." Since  Mr.  Thornton  wrote,  the  "rate 


of  proselytism"  has  wonderfully  increased. 
The  five  largest  societies  have  doubled  the 
number  of  their  meml)ersin  sixteen  years, 
liapid  as  has  been  the  the  progress  of  trade 
unionism,  there  is,  therefore,  ample 
room  tor  farther  development.  Indeed, 
trade  unions  are  as  yet  in  their  infancy. 
They  recognize  this,  and  many  of  them 
are  exercising  themselves  to  bring  non- 
unionists  to  see  the  wisdom  of  entering 
their  portals.  It  is  to  be  hoped  their 
eftbrts  will  be  crowned  with  success,  and 
that  in  a  very  few  years  eveiy  working 
man  will  belong  to  a  union  of  his  trade. 

Years  ago  trade  unions  were  considered 
too  insignificant  for  notice.  The  Press  en- 
tirely ignored  them,  and  publishers  refused 
to  print  literature  concerning  them.  When 
their  existence  was  at  last  recognieed, 
they  were  treated  with  an  uncompromising 
hostility — they  were  regarded  as  enemies 
to  social  order  and  progress.  To  be  a  trade 
unionist  was  to  be  a  "  dangerous  character, ' ' 
and  that  trade  unionsonght  to  be  suppressed 
was  the  general  opinion  of  what  is  called 
the  respectable  portion  of  the  community. 
All  this  is  now  changed  ;  trade  unions  are 
not  only  acknowledged  to  be  justifiable, 
but  necessary.  Magazine  editors  throw 
open  their  pages  to  the  unions'  champions, 
and  even  the  trade  union  ofiicers  tliemselves 
contribute  articles  to  the  leading  publica- 
tions of  the  day.  The  representatives  of 
unions  hold  converse  with  Cabinet  minis- 
ters, and  the  assistance  of  the  societies  is 
eagerly  sought  by  candidates  for  parlia- 
mentary honors.  The  proceedings  of  the 
trade  congresses  are  telegraphed  from  one 
end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other.  Unions 
are  now  acknowledged  as  a  power  for 
"good,"  and,  to  crown  all,  they  have  suc- 
ceeded in  placing  three  of  their  secretaries 
in  the  House  of  Commons  itself,  and  there 
is  every  likelihood,  ere  long,  of  many  more 
being  returned  as  meml^rs  of  that  as- 
sembly. 

It  was  discovered  that  what  onionists 
wanted  was  not  to  rob  capital,  but  obtain 
for  labor  its  rights.  It  was  hoped  that  the 
employers  would  see  the  question  in  this 
light ;  and  one  of  the  most  distressing 
features  in  the  discussion  of  this  question 
is  the  violent  hostility,  the  determination 
to  fight,  the  desire  for  war,  displayed  in 
the  programme  of  ' '  the  National  Federation 
of  Associated  Employers  of  Labor. ' '  That 
document,  however,  testifies  to  the  power 
and  efficacy  of  trade  unions,  which  is  the 
point  at  present  under  consideration. 
Amidst  a  good  deal  of  misrepresentation 
the  employers  acknowledge  that  the  un- 
ionists have  an  "elaborate organization." 
"Fewaio  aware,"  they  say,  "of  the  ex- 
tent, compactnef^'.  of  organization,  large 
resources,  and  ^  •;!>/.;  influence  of  trade 
unions.  They  have  an  annual  congress  at 
which  an  increasing  number  of  unions  an 


rfully  increased, 
ave  doubled  the 
n  sixteen  years, 
irogress  of  trade 
lerefore,    ample 
ment.     Indeed, 
D  their  infancy, 
many    of  them 
to   bring  non- 
dom  of  entering 
be   hoped    their 
ith  Huccees,  and 
eveiy  working 
of  Ilia  trade, 
were  considered 
The  Press  en- 
iblishers  refused 
ng  them.  When 
ast    recognised, 
ncompromising 
'ded  as  enemies 
To  be  a  trade 
irons  character," 
to  be  suppressed 
■  what  is  called 
the  community, 
trade  unions  are 

0  be  justifiable, 
editors    throw 

ons'  champions, 
Hcers  tiiemselves 
leading  pnblica- 
ipresentatives  of 

1  Cabinet  minis- 
the  societies  is 

lates  for  parlia- 
)ceedings  of  the 
uphed  from  one 
3  other.  Unions 
18  a  power  for 
I,  they  have  suc- 
their  secretaries 
itself,  and  there 
g,  of  many  more 
lers   of  that  as- 

what  onionista 
»ital,  but  obtain 
9  hoped  that  the 
question  in  this 
lost  distressing 
of  this  question 
e  determination 
a,  displayed  in 
ional  Federation 
Labor."  TThat 
«  to  the  power 
18,  which  is  the 
consideration, 
isrepresentation 
;e  that  the  nn- 
)  organization." 
i.y,  "of  the  ex- 
mization,  large 
uen(M>  of  ti-ade 
loal  congress  at 
r  of  unions  are 


reprewntetl  eiifli  je«r. ''  "They  have  the 
control  oi  enormous  funds,  which  they  ex- 
pend freely  in  furtherance  ot  their  olijects, 
and  the  proportion  of  their  earnings  which 
the  operatives  devote  to  the  service  of  their 
leaders  is  startling."  We  should  think  so, 
to  the  mind  of  a  selliRh  master.  The  associa- 
tions "are  federated  together,  acting  in 
common  accord  under  able  If  iiders. "  "  They 
have  a  well-paid  and  ample  stolV  of  leaders, 
most  of  them  experienced  in  the  conduct 
of  strikes,  many  of  them  skilful  as  organ- 
izers, all  forming  a  class  apart ,  a  profession , 
with  interests  distinct  li'om,  though  not 
necessarily  antagonistic  to,  thof'e  of  the 
workpeople  they  leod."  "They  have, 
through  their  command  of  money,  the  im- 
posing aspect  of  their  organization,  and 
partly,  also,  from  the  mistaken  humani- 
tarian aspirations  of  a  certain  number  of 
literary  men  of  good  standing  [eic  'mis- 
taken'  men,  t.  e.,  such  as  the  late  J.  8. 
Mill,  I'rof  Beetley,  Frederic  IIurriKon, 
Henry  Crompton,  W.  T.  Thornton,  and 
others],  a  large  array  of  literary  talent, 
which  is  prompt  in  their  service  on  all  oc- 
casions ot  controversy.  They  have  their 
own  Press  as  a  field  for  those  exertions. 
Their  writers  have  free  atcets  to  some  of 
the  leading  London  journals.  They  or- 
ganize frequent  meetings  at  which  paid 
speakers  inoculate  the  working  classes  with 
their  ideas,  and  ur^e  them  to  dictate  terms 
to  candidates  tor  Parliament  ....  Tbey 
have  a  standing  Parliamentary  Committee, 
and  a  programme,  and  active  members  of 
Parliament  are  energetic  in  their  service. 
They  have  the  attentive  ear  of  the  minister 
of  the  day,  and  their  communications  are 
received  with  instant  and  respectful  atten- 
tion. They  have  a  large  representation 
of  their  own  body  in  London  whenever 
Parliament  is  likely  to  be  engaged  in  the 
discussion  of  the  proposals  they  have  caused 
to  be  brought  before  it.  Thus,  untram- 
melled by  pecuniary  considerations,  and 
specially  set  apart  for  this  peculiar  work, 
without  other  clashing  occupations,  they 
resemble  the  staff  of  a  well-organized,  well- 
provisioned  army,  for  whi(&  everything 
that  foresight  and  preoccupation  in  a  given 
purpose  could  provide  is  at  command .  .  . 
These  results  are  the  deserved  reward  of 
•  the  superiority  of  the  trade  unionists  over 
the  employers  in  those  high  qualities  of 
foresight,  generalship,  and  present  self- 
sacrifice,  for  the  sake  of  future  advantage 
[what  an  admission  !],  which  form  neces- 
sary elements  in  the  success  of  every  organ- 
ized society."  Truly,  if  there  were  any 
doubts  as  to  the  fitness  of  trade  unions  to 
attain  their  objects,  the  National  Federa- 
tion of  Associated  Employers  of  Labor  has 
removed  that  doubt.  Have  the  trade  unions 
succeeded?  Ask  the  federated  employers. 
There  can  be  no  better  proof,  not  only  of 
the   power,  but  of  the  justice  of  trade 


unionism,  than  the  document  from  whicL 
the  above  quotations  are  taken. 

Although,  then,  trade  unions  have  proved 
themselves  thoroughly  fit  and  able  to  carry 
nut  the  main  objects  lor  which  they  were 
formed,  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  in 
regard  to  one  portion  of  their  programme, 
they  have  not  shown  the  same  tact  and 
ability.  There  is  the  authority  of  the  <  I>'ef 
actuaries  in  the  country  for  saying  that  the 
insurance  funds — as  they  maybecalUd — 
of  some  of  the  trade  unions  are  based  upon 
false  data.  The  amounts  expended  undei 
this  head  are  tor  sickness,  superannuation, 
accidents,  funerals,  etc.,  and  the  sum  total 
thus  expended  is  very  large,  in  some  in- 
stances much  greater  than  is  spent  in  con- 
ducting a  strike  or  opposing  a  lock-out.* 

As  has  been  already  pointed  out,  such 
benevolent  notions  had  veiy  little  to  do 
with  the  ibimation  of  a  union.  Thty  were 
mere  subterfuges  tacked  to  the  ibaitti  of 
a  union  because  it  was  illegal  for  them  to 
exist  without  them.  When  they  weie  "re- 
gistered," however,  they  had  a  sort  of 
quasi-legal  existence,  and  could,  at  any 
late,  meet  legally.  It  is  piobable  that  the 
care  and  attention  of  the  original  members 
would  be  devoted  more  to  the  immediate 
advantage  of  increased  wages  than  in  cal- 
culating premiums  for  a  sick  and  burial 
fund.  Probably,  alro,  the  actuarial  abili- 
ties of  the  first  promoters  of  unions  were 
not  very  great.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  benevolent  funds  and 
kindred  funds  attached  to  trade  unions 
both  attract  members  and  retain  them.  In 
this  respect  they  are  a  source  of  strength, 
because  each  man  is  bound  to  obedience 
under  the  penalty  of  losing  all  the  money 
he  has  subscribed  for  bis  support  in  sickness 
and  old  age. 

That  unions  force  masters  to  pay  bad 
workmen  the  same  wages  as  good  workmen 
is  not  true,  and  the  very  idea  wonld  be 
scouted  by  all  sersible  unionists.  The  no- 
tion that  such  is  the  case  is,  howeTer,  very 
general.  A  unifoim  rate  of  pay  exists  in 
the  aimy,  navy.  Government  offices,  and 
other  institutions,  in  which  aristocrats  have 
been  able  to  appropriate  the  "maximum  "' 
of  pay,  leaving  a  meagre  residuum  to  their 
lees  fortunate  brethren  ;  but  the  trade  unio- 
nists have  not  yet  learned  to  practise  sncb 
injustice.  True,  the  unions  sometimes- 
agree  upon  a  minimum  rate  of  wages,  bnt 
this  is  quite  another  thing.  If  a  man  be  not 
worth  that  minimum  no  employer  need 
employ  him,  while  if  he  be  a  man  of  supe- 
rior skill,  or  extraordinary  working  ability, 
there  is  no  limit  to  the  amonnt  of  wages  sat 
employer  may  feel  inclined  to  give  him. 
Of  course,  where  wages  are  paid  by  the  day, 
a  uniform  rate  natnally  springs  in  existence. 

*  The  aeven  lArgest  unions  spent  £2a0,0H  In.. 
1881  in  the  above-named  benefits. 


■nw 


30 


It  is,  liDwever,  ngreed  upon  between  the  em- 
plovec  ami  men.  It  is  a  mere  ronven- 
tiou;il  iirninKenient,  nnd  mny  be  abandoned 
by  either  Hiileiw  soon  as  it  in  found  unJuHtor 
oppri-Hsive,  It  mu8t  he  rfmenihered  that 
wlu!ti  wa^es  have  settled  down  to  n  "  uni- 
form nite, "  that  rate  is  always  below  the 
aveniK**!  and  is  therefore  a  gain  to  the 
mast<Ts.  It  is  a  K>iin  to  them  in  another 
resiM-tit.  So  far  from  pluciuK  the  competent 
ou  the  same  level,  nnys  that  gentlemen, 
"this  'uniform  rate'  has  been  bitterly 
complained  of,  as  ext-luding  the  incompetent 
altogether.  At  the  Jlradford  meetin>»  in 
IHT'I,  one  of  the  speakers  gave,  as  a  reason 
against  trade  unions,  that  he  was  not  able 
to  earn  the  usnal  rates,  and  ns  the  union 
wonld  not  allow  any  of  its  raemlwrs  to 
work  for  less,  he  conid  get  no  employment 
while  he  was  a  member,  and  so  he  left." 
A  "  minimum  rate  "  is  the  rate  which  the 
least  (competent  unionist  is  worth,  and  if 
the  man  cannot  come  up  to  that  standard 
thd  trade  society  cares  not  how  soon  he 


leaves  it.  In  practice,  the  masters  never 
complain  of  this  "minimum"  or  'uniform" 
rate.  They  know  the  advantages  of  it 
too  well  to  indulge  in  any  such  complaint. 
It  is  only  heard  as  an  argument  when  they 
are  airing  their  grievances,  and  laying  the 
blame  of  every  evil  under  the  sun  to  the 
action  of  trade  unions.  It  is  a  kind  of 
reasoning  which  may  fairly  be  considered  a 
special  plea.  j 

It  has  been  shown,  1st,  That  trade  nnions 
are  the  natnial  growth  of  natural  laws,  and 
that  their  development  has  been  marvel- 
lously rapid  ;  'ind,  That  theii  faults  (now 
diminishing)  are  not  inhrrent  or  essential, 
but  are  either  excrescences  or  mere  tuples 
flora  other  corjwrations  ;  ;ird,  That  the  ob- 
ject of  unionism  is  a  legitimate  and  a  noble 
one  ;  and  4tli,  That  their  fitness  to  attain 
that  object  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  bril- 
liant success  which  has  characterized  their 
ellbrts.  It  remains  to  consider  what  has 
been  the  influence  of  that  success,  to  which 
task  the  following  chapter  will  be  devoted. 


CHAPTER  V. 


tradp:  unions — their  influence. 


Effects  of  high  wbkcr — Deuire  to  retain  a  biKli  social  standard — Well-paid  labor  remunentlTe  t* 
the  cnpitaliHt— (\ir<!iKn  uonipctUion— Hieh  wages  does  not  mean  high  prices — The  high  price 
of  cohI  and  the  collierH — Co-operation — Trade  unionn  stimulate  invention — Expenditure  by  the 
working  classes — AdvantHKCs  of  ehorter  hours — Self-improvement — Moral  influence  of  trade 
unions — Endeavor  to  make  good  workmen— Educational  influence  of  trade  unions — Political 
infl'ieiice— Future  of  trade  unions— Legal  requirements— Class  distinctiona — Oood  conduct  of 
imionists  insisted  upon— Mutual  uS'^iHtanoe — The  union  oQlces  storehouses  of  statistios — The 
liritish  Association  on  trade  unions — Recapitulation  and  conclusion. 


It  remains  to  consider — 

(a)  What  is  the  influence  of  trade  nnions 
on  the  trade  of  the  country  ? 

(ft)  What  is  their  moral  effect  on  those 
who  l)elong  to  them  ? 

It  is,  indeed,  the  "  higgling  of  the  mar- 
ket," as  Adam  Smith  calls  it,  which  de- 
termines prices;  and  those  who  do  not 
"higgle,"  even  when  "shopping,"  will 
generally  pay  more  than  the  market  rate 
for  their  goods.  Strikes,  then,  are  not 
only  legitimate,  but  they  are  the  inevi- 
table result  of  commercial  bargaining  for 
labor.  They  are  no  more  opposed  to 
trade  than  are  lockouts.  If  a  man  may 
say  to  his  men,  or  to  a  portion  of  them: 
"Business  is  slack,  I  give  you  a  week's 
notice,"  surely  when  the  state  of  trade  is 
reversed  the  men  may  say,  "Trade  is  brisk, 
give  ns  more  wages,  or  take  a  week's  no- 
tice." "I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,"  says 
one  who  is  worth  hearing*  "that  the  asso- 


•  Mr.  J.  8.  Mill. 


elation  of  laborers,  of  a  nature  similar  to 
trade  unions,  far  from  being  a  hindrance 
to  a  free  market  for  labor,  are  the  necessary 
instrumentality  of  that  free  market — the 
indispensable  means  of  enabling  the  lellers 
of  labor  to  take  due  care  of  their  own  in- 
terests under  a  system  of  competition. ' '  It 
seems  strange  that  persons  can  befotind 
whe  will  deny  that  all  legal  means  em- 
ployed by  those  who  live  by  labor,  to  in- 
crease the  remuneration  for  that  labor,  or 
to  shorten  the  hours  of  labor — which 
amounts  to  the  same  thing — or  to  render 
their  means  of  living  more  secure,  are  no 
more  a  violation  of  the  principles  of  trade 
than  is  the  conduct  of  a  dealer  who  with- 
holds his  goods  from  the  market  in  order 
to  raise  their  price. 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  previonB  chap- 
ter that  one  of  the  great  results  of  trade 
unionism  has  been  to  raise  wages,  and 
under  this  head,  therefore,  it  is  a  no  lees 
important  inquiry — What  are  the  effects 
of  advanced  wages  on  the  trade  of  the 


31 


the  moHtera  uever 
iiu"  or '  iiuiCorm" 
ndvantaKe.s  of  it 
y  such  complaiiit. 
ument  when  they 
1,  unii  laying  the 
er  the  sun  to  the 
It  is  a  kind  of 
ly  be  considered  u 

That  trade  nninnit 

natural  laws,  and 

has  been  niarvel- 

theii  faults  (now 

rrent  or  esaeutial, 

ict'H  or  mere  t«pies 

Hrd,  That  the  ob- 

'imat«  and  a  noble 

ir  fltnew  to  attain 

proved  by  the  bril- 

haranterizfd  their 

onnider  what  has 

t  success,  to  which 

>r  will  be  devoted. 


lor  remunerative  t* 
3C8— The  high  price 
BzpendHure  by  the 
iiiHuence  of  trade 
lie  unions — Political 
« — Good  conduct  of 
9  of  statiatlos— The 


DBtore  similar  to 
eing  a  hindrance 
are  the  necessary 
free  market— the 
abling  the  tellers 
I  of  their  own  in- 
3ompetition,"  It 
>ns  can  befoand 
legal  means  em- 

by  labor,  to  in- 
br  that  labor,  or 
if  labor — which 
ng— or  to  render 
ire  secnre,  are  no 
inciples  of  trade 
lealer  who  with- 

market  in  order 

e  previous  chap- 
resnltB  of  trade 
lise  wages,  and 
),  it  is  a  no  less 
are  the  effects 
le  trade  of  the 


country?  Now,  high  wages— i.e.  notonlya 
greattr  unmher  of  dollars  a  week,  but  no 
diminution  in  their  purchasing  power — 
cannot  be  otherwise  than  a  great  blessing. 
A  great  deal  has  been  said  on  the  wasteful 
way  in  which  the  extra  earnings  of  the 
woikingmen  were  Fifuandered  in  1870  and 
the  yeivr'i  before,  and  this  will  be  treated  of 
in  the  He(|uel.  All  a  man's  extra  earnings, 
however,  were  not  wasted.  Home  portion 
of  them  was,  doubtless,  spent  in  sober 
griititication,  and  in  increasing  the  comfort 
of  tliH  household.  Now,  one  of  the  articles 
in  which  there  has  been  increased  con- 
sumption is  tea.  Let  u.s  ask,  therefore, 
what  i.s  the  effect  of  an  increased  consump- 
tion of  teaV  Itsignifies,  inthetirstplace,  that 
more  ships  have  been  required  to  fetch  the 
tea  from  China,  to  build  which  ships  more 
men  were  re(|uired,  and  to  man  them  more 
men  were  wanted.  The  ships  had  to  be 
rigged,  which  was  good  for  the  ropemakers 
and  the  sailcloth  manufacturers,  as  well  as 
several  other  industries.  Then  when  the 
tea  arrived  here,  it  required  more  ware- 
houses and  employed  more  warehousemen, 
as  well  as  an  additional  number  of  carriers, 
both  by  rail  and  road,  to  distribute  it  over 
the  country  ;  it  required  more  paper  to 
wrap  it  in  parcels,  more  string  to  tie  them 
with.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  any 
industry  whatever  that  does  not  receive 
some  advantage  from  the  increase  in  the 
consumption  of  any  single  article ;  and  it 
may  be  a  consolation  to  cosmopolitans  to 
be  reminded  that  the  processes  here  al- 
luded to  are  not  confined  in  their  advan- 
tages to  this  conntry,  but  stimulate  in  a 
similar  way  the  various  trades  in  the  dis- 
tant land  which  cultivated  the  plant ;  and 
thns  two  nations  mutually  benefit  each 
other,  and  feel  that  they  have  an  interest 
in  each  other's  prosperity.  This,  however, 
is  not  all.  The  tea  is  not  sent  here  for 
nothing  ;  we  send  out  other  commodities  in 
exchange  for  it.  The  cotton  fabrics  from 
Lancashire,  the  woollen  cloths  from  York- 
shire, hardware  goods  from  Birmingham, 
and  steel  and  iron  manufactures  from  8hef- 
fied,  are  gathered  to  our  ports  and  sent  to 
the  east,  employing  labor  at  every  process, 
and  whenever  they  are  moved,  from  the 
time  the  raw  material  is  landed  on  our 
shores  until  the  time  that  it  is  delivered 
over  to  the  consumer  or  the  wearer  in  a  far 
distant  land.  When  the  collier's  wife  buys 
an  alpaca  dress,  she  little  thinks  how  much 
the  world  has  been  set  in  motion  to  enable 
her  to  do  so — how  that  Salt  wove  it,  Ripley 
dyeil  it,  Lairds  built  the  ship  to  fetch  it, 
Wbitworths  made  the  tools  in  order  that 
Piatt  might  make  the  machines,  in  order 
thatitmightbespun,  woven,  dyed,  pressed, 
before  it  reached  the  dressmaker,  who  nsed 
a  needle  made  by  Mil  ward,  and  thread  by 
Brooks.  An  increase  in  the  consumption 
of  a  commodity,  therefore,  gives  work  to 


thousands  who  would  he  otherwise  idle, 
and  has  a  tenden<;y  to  raise  wages  nearer 
and  nearer  to  the  "just  rate,"  which  has 
ever  beep  such  al)one  of  contention.  This 
is  the  great  point  to  rememl)er — when  men 
are  earning  money  they  spend  it.  They 
buy  more  lurniture  for  their  homes,  more 
clothes  for  their  back,  more  beer  for  their 
cellar,  more  and  better  food.  It  is  only 
when  wages  are  low  that,  like  Christopher 
•Sly,  they  have  "no  more  donblets  than 
backs,  no  more  stockings  than  legs,  nor  no 
more  shoes  than  feet."  The  prosperity  of 
the  workingman,  then,  increases  the  pros- 
perity of  the  butcher,  the  baker,  the  pul>- 
lican,  the  grocer,  the  tailor,  the  draper, 
and  all  the  manufacturers  and  industries 
upon  which  these  trades  depend.  It  may, 
indeed,  be  the  prosperity  of  the  nation 
which  causes  high  wages ;  but  it  is  eijually 
certain  that  high  wages  maintain  and  in- 
crease that  prosperity.* 

The  workingmen,  having  once  tasted  the 
sweeta  of  a  prosperous  condition,  do  not 
like  to  return  to  their  old  wa;s  of  poverty 
and  squalor.  They  are  always  lound, 
therefore,  struggling  to  maintain  their 
wages  at  the  maximum  point  they  have 
ever  reached.  The  reluctotace  which  is 
shown  to  submit  to  a  necessary  reduction 
is  evidence  in  proof  of  this.  Now  it  has 
been  shown  by  Ilicardn,  Mill,  and  others, 
that  the  minimum  rate  of  wages  is  found 
amongst  men  in  that  condition  below 
which  they  do  not  choose  to  live.  If  these 
men  can  be  improved  in  their  condition, 
and  when  that  '  'improvement  is  of  a  signal 
character,  and  a  generation  grows  up  which 
has  always  been  used  to  an  improved  scale 
of  comfort,  the  habits  of  this  new  genera- 
tion, in  respect  to  population,  liecome 
formed  upon  a  higher  minimum,  and  the 
improvement  in  their  condition  becomes 
permanent."  Here,  then,  is  an  object 
worth  striving  for — a  "permanent"  raising 
of  wages — at  any  rate,  so  permanent  that  it 
will  not  fall  for  one  generation — truly  a 
consnmmation  devoutly  to  be  wished,  and 
one  which  may  be  reached,  not  only  with- 
out injury  to  the  capitalist,  bat  to  his  ma- 
terial prosperity  and  advantage.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  permanent  fall  in  wages 
means  a  deterioration  in  the  "  minimum" 
condition.  When  men  begin  to  fall,  they 
descend  more  rapidly  than  they  rise,  and  in 
a  few  weeks  will  forget  the  comforts  they 
enjoyed  for  a  few  months.  Facilia  deeenma 
At!emo.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was 
this  "  keeping  down"  in  the  years  gone  by 
that  permanently  injured  the  condition  of 


*  The  Hhoptceepem  Icnow  this,  and  often  anist 
to  maintain  n  strike  by  gr'vinK  the  men  credit 
while  they  are  out  of  work.  Experience  haa 
taught  them  that  when  men  liave  high  wages 
they  fpend  them,  and  they  therefore  assist  the 
men  to  obtain  an  advance,  knowing  that  they 
themselves  will  share  the  benefits. 


J 


the  iiKrit'oltnral  luborew,  from  which  in- 
jury they  are  only  now  recovering.  There 
can  be  no  higher  ntiMiioii  for  trade  nnionn 
than  thnt  of  raifiing  the  condition  of  the 
working  men  of  thix  country  to  anch  un 
extent  and  for  tiuch  a  length  of  time  thiit 
the  )Niint  reached  IjecomcH  the  accejtted 
minimum,  and  that  any  change  at  all  muMt 
be  in  an  upward  direction. 

The  laliorers,  however,  mnnt  not  expect 
to  derive  all  the  a<lvantag(8  of  high  wugex 
at  once.  They  piuat  remember  that  if 
enhanced  wnges  <'uuBe  the  price  of  the  com- 
modity produced  to  be  enhanced,  the  price 
is  raiHed  to  them  bh  well  oh  to  others.  ]f 
the  demand  of  the  cotton  operatives  raise 
the  price  of  shirtH,  the  cotton  operatives 
must  pay  more  for  their  Bhirt«  just  the 
same  an  other  people.  There  is,  however, 
this  to  be  considere<l,  that  men  produce 
faster  than  they  consume.  Each  man  pro- 
duces more  than  is  necessary  for  his  own 
support.  When  a  man  has  ma<le  a  plough 
he  can  make  another  l)efore  that  one  is 
worn  out.  The  more  there  are  made  the 
more  there  will  be  wanted  until  all  are 
supplied,  which  for  practical  purposes  may 
at  present  be  considered  a  very  remote 
future.  The  supply  creates  the  demand. 
Stockings  were  not  inquired  for  (l)ecauHe 
they  were  not  wanted)  imtil  they  were  in- 
vented ;  and  if  to-morrow  we  hod  donble 
the  quantity  we  have  to-day,  it  might  be 
possible  to  sell  them  at  half  the  present 
price  without  reducing  wages  at  all.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  wages  may  be  enhanced, 
prices  diminished,  and  prolits  increased,  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  as  thone  familiar 
with  the  use  of  newly  invented  machinery 
are  well  aware.  This  explains  a  paradoxi- 
cal appearance  at  the  present  day,  that  all 
over  the  world  there  is  a  tendency  of  wages 
to  rise,  and  at  the  same  time  a  universal 
tendency  of  all  materials  to  cheapen. 
Unionism  helps  both  these  tendencies,  and 
is  thug  a  double  blessing.  It  is  probable, 
though  not  certain,  that  protlts  will  be 
called  upon  to  make  the  principal  sacrifice 
in  the  future.  At  any  rate  this  is  to  be 
hoped.  Hitherto  the  consumer  has  been — 
to  use  a  vulgar  but  expressive  word — 
fleeced  ;  and  it  is  time  that  the  incidence 
of  injustice  be  either  shifted  or  annihi- 
lated. 

Althongh,  however,  a  ri.se  in  the  price  of 
labor  all  ronnd,  taxes,  so  to  speak,  the 
laborers  themselves,  yet  it  does  not  tax 
them  to  the  full  extent  of  the  advance. 
There  ia  a  nMse  of  beings  called  "  non-pro- 
dncers" — a  class  "sometimes  innocent, 
generally  useless,  often  noxious."  Now  a 
rise  in  wages  all  ronnd  means  that  some  of 
the  Inxnries  of  the  non-prodncing  class  are 
being  metamorphosed  into  extra  comforts 
or  loxnries  for  the  producing  claas.  This  is 
a  pare  gain  to  the  producer,  in  addition  to 
other  gains  which  reanlt  ftom  the  improve- 


ment of  hi«  position.  The  only  way  by 
which  laborerH  could  ))e  deprived  of  the 
benetits  of  increased  wages,  would  l>e  by 
the  non-lahoring  class  setting  to  work  and 
producing  something.  They  would  then 
Hhare  in  the  advantages  of  the  increased 
I)ros])erity,  instead  of,  as  now,  f>a«-riliciiig  u 
portion  of  their  meann,  and  this  porti'  n  U 
divided  amongHt  iheproduceis.  •'■o  li.ng, 
however,  as  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin,  and  garner  what  they  have  nut. 
gathered,  they  cannot  complain  that  they 
contribute  towards  the  cost  of  those  who 
work. 

It  must  not  be  thought,  however,  that 
well-paid  labor  is  nnremnnerative  to  the 
capitalist.  The  contrary  is  the  fact.  In- 
deed, that  style  of  labor  tor  which  no  wages 
— in  the  ordinary  sense — are  paid,  is  the 
least  remunerative  of  any.  Slaves  will 
not  work.  The  low  state  of  civilization 
and  the  ignorance  of  even  the  simplest 
laws  in  which  it  is  found  necessary  to  keep 
human  beings,  in  order  that  they  may  Ru)>- 
mit  to  slavery,  do  more  to  prevent  them 
from  working  hard  than  the  lush  does  to 
make  them  work  at  all.  It  was  pointed 
out  some  time  O'zn  that  "two  Middlesex 
mowers  will  mo  /  in  a  day  as  much  gracs 
as  six  Russian  s>  rfn  ;  and  in  spite  of  the 
dearness  of  f  rovisions  in  England,  and 
their  cheapness  in  Russia,  the  mowing  of  a 
quantity  of  hay  which  would  cost  an  Eng- 
lish farmer  a  copeck  will  cost  a  Russian 
proprietor  three  or  four  copecks. "  It  was, 
in  tihort,  considered  as  proven  that  in 
Russia,  where  everything  was  cheap,  the 
labor  <>f  a  serf  was  doubly  aa  expensive  as 
that  of  a  laborer  in  England.  Men  will 
not  work  their  very  best  unless  they  have 
nn  incentive  to  do  so.  This  great  truth 
hits  ct  last  made  itself  known  to  some  of 
our  gr<.at  capitalists.  Sir  Thomas  Brassey 
and  other  large  employers  have  found  o>t 
that  underpaid  labor  is  by  no  means  econo- 
mical. Here  are  a  few  proofs — When  the 
North  Devon  Railway  was  being  made, 
men  were  working  at  2«.  a  day  at  first,  then 
2».  6<i.,  and  then  3$.  6d.  Nevertheless  it 
was  found  that  the  work  was  executed 
more  cheaply  at  the  highest  rate  than  at  the 
lowestrate.  Soalso  in  carrying  out  thelarge 
sewage  works  in  Oxford  Street,  London, 
bricklayers  were  gradually  raised  from  6»- 
to  lOs.  a  day,  and  at  the  higher  rate  of 
wa^ea  bricks  were  laid  at  a  cheaper  rate  ;  t 
while  at  the  building  of  Basingstoke  sta- 
tion one  Ixtndon  workman  at  58.  6d.  a  day 
did  more  work  than  three  country  onrs  at 
38.  6d.  each.  Many  other  instances  might 
be  added,  all  showing  that  intel1i{.*ept 
workmen  well  paid  are  cheaper  than  Va<l 
workmen  ill  paid.  As  Mr.  Frederic  Har- 
rison puts  it :  "The  workman  whose  intel- 
ligence requires  no  more  than  the  minimum 
of  supervision  is  a  cheap  bargain  even  at 
the  maximum  wages."    "  It  is  said  by  one 


33 


The  only  way  by 
lie  drprivetl  of  the 
itgcH,  wonid  ]te  hy 
Ktting  to  work  and 

They  would  then 
eH  ot  the  inirfuHed 
IN  now,  i>a('rili«'in]{  u 
and  IhiM  pnrti<  n  in 

CMiucelH.       >0  li'llg, 

ot,  neither  <l<>  they 
nt  they  have  not. 
complain  that  they 
coat  of  thoae  wlio 

ght,  however,  thnt 
eniunerative  to  the 
ry  is  the  fait.     Jn- 
lior  which  no  wa^ea 
-are  paid,  is  the 
any.     Slaves  will 
tate  of  civilization 
even  the  simplest 
d  necessary  to  keep 
thnt  they  may  nnli- 
e  to  prevent  them 
in  the  liuth  does  to 
II.     It  was  pointed 
t  "two  Middlesex 
»  dny  as  much  KruHS 
and  in  ppite  of  the 
in   England,   and 
in,  the  mowing  of  a 
would  cost  an  Eag- 
will  coHta  KusHiun 
copecks."    It  wax, 
as  proven  that   in 
ing  was  cheap,  the 
biy  as  expensive  as 
England.     Men  will 
i8t  unless  they  have 
This  great  troth 
'  known  to  some  of 
Sir  Thomas  Brassey 
'era  have  found  o>t 
by  DO  means  econo- 
r  proofs— When  the 
'  waa  being  made, 
I.  a  day  at  first,  then 
d.    Neverthelrsa  it 
vork  was  executed 
best  rate  than  at  the 
irryingout  thelarge 
rd  Street,  London, 
tlly  raised  from  6n. 
the  higher  rate  of 
at  a  cheaper  rate ;  4 
of  Basingstoke  sta- 
lan  at  Ss.  6d.  a  day 
ree  country od( sat 
ler  instances  might 
;    that   intelli^'ent 
cheaper  than  \ai\ 
Mr.  Frederic  Ilar- 
rkman  whose  intel- 
than  the  minimum 
>p  bargain  even  at 
"It is  said  by  one 


of  our  fHi'tory  inspectors  thnt  in  France 
one  workman  litokri  ufler  14  ^pindlen.  In 
Kuglund  one  niindir  oud  tno  asHiittiiniH 
.^  n  mannKi-  a  uinle  with  'i,^H)  spindU-H.  It 
is  an  obviuuH  economy  to  employ  surh  a 
minder  at  even  higher  rates  us  rompiind 
with  the  Fieni'h.  This  is  the  pragn-Mt*  liy 
which,  in  our  cotton  industry,  as  in  ho 
niiiuy  olheiM,  wages  have  been  rising,  pro- 
lits  liiivn  lii'en  growing,  and  goods  hH>u 
Itetn  chenpentdull  at  the  same  time."  In- 
('reai«e<i  wugt-s  aiealvtnjs  to  be  got  when 
there  is  tin  incrrniie  in  the]iMMhu'tof  liilmr, 
although  even  the  rate  of  wngts  l>e  lower. 
ThuH  tispiiiiier  inGlafguw  (.Mewis.  Iloulds- 
wcrthV)  employed  on  a  mule,  and  s(iin- 
ning  cotiou  l'.^()  hnnks  to  tlio  ]iouu(1,  p'o- 
duced  in  183:{,  working 7-l^  hours  in  the 
week,  40  pounds  of  yarn,  liis  uett  weekly 
enraings  fur  which  amounted  to  Hin.  "id. 
In  1H33,  the  rate  of  wages  having  in  tie 
meantime  betn  reductd  13^  perceut.,  ai>d 
the  time  of  working  having  Ixeu  Ie»>Mened 
to  69  hours,  the  npinner  wus  enabled,  by 
the  greater  perfection  of  the  muchiuery,  to 
produce  on  a  mule  ot  the  same  number 
of  spindles,  fiS}  pounds  of  yarn  of  thesunie 
fineness,  and  his  nett  weekly  euiniogs  iid- 
vanced  to  29«.  lOr/.  Similar  cauH(«  rai^'td 
the  remuneration  of  the  faitt  spinners  from 
Txt.  6d.  a  week  in  1871  by  successive  grndu- 
tions  to  9k.  in  1872  ;  and  almost  every  trade 
can  tell  the  same  story.  Sir  Thomiis 
BrasHey  strengthens  this  position  by  point- 
ing out  thnt  in  the  conxtruction  of  the 
Paris  and  lionen  iiailwiiy,  although  the 
English  navvies  earned  r»i  a  day,  while  the 
Frenchmen  employeil  received  only  2«.  (id. 
a  day,  yet  it  was  found,  on  comparing  the 
cost  of  two  adjacent  cuttings  in  precisely 
similar  circumdtant-es,  that  the  excavation 
was  made  at  a  lower  co»t  per  cubic  yard  by 
the  Engii.sh  n^wvies  than  by  the  French 
lalmrcrs  ;  and  it  must  be  remembered,  too, 
that  the  former  worked  one  and  a  half 
hours  a  dny  less  than  the  latter.  Another 
authority  has  told  us  that,  a  few  years  ago, 
ten  laborers  in  Ireland  raised  the  same 
quantity  of  produce  that  four  laborers 
raised  in  England,  and  the  result  of  the 
work  of  the  one  was  generally  inferior  in 
quality  to  tVat  of  the  other.  Quarry- 
owners  tell  the  same  tale,  and  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  late  Sir  Francis  Crossley 
that  our  agricultural  laborers  would  do 
more  work  if  they  were  better  paid. 

Although,  therefore,  wages  increase, 
labor  does  not  become  dearer.  This  is  very 
gratifying,  because  it  can  hardly  bedonbted 
that  the  spread  of  education,  and  the  com- 
forts which  follow  from  it,  will  induce  the 
working  man  to  work  less  hard,  and  for 
shorter  time,  for  increased  wages,  than  he 
hss  hitherto  done.  The  facta  above  stated, 
too,  should  ser>'e  to  lay  that  frightfU  hob- 
goblin— "foreign competition."  Ashipcan 
hardly  be  lannched  in  America,  or  a  for- 


nare  lighted  in  P>e'  aim,  but  Eii  '  «Dd  is 
nMiiireil  that  in  i-oUh'  lurnre  of  kti  <m  ihe 
trade  is  leaving  thv  >t>untry.  Ti  -  ni<i*t 
trade  will  always  Ims  I'onnd  wlier«  IIky*  are 
the  licMt  workmen,  and  the  aignnu.nl  of 
these  pages  shows  how  these  Hie  t<i  \>v 
made.  It  iH  very  amuHJng  to  notiei*  tlwtt 
while  liritlKh  i'npitHlisIs  pretend  to  b« 
nlnrniiMl  at  Imrign  (onipetiticn,  «vi  ry  ni^ 
tion  under  the  Hun  is  ufrnid  of  EigliHh 
competition.  When  our  e<'tlon  nmnutoe- 
tureni  were  earning  12«.  to  I.'n  a  week, 
those  in  France,  Iielginm,  and  Cu'rmuny 
were  earning '11.  ltd.  to  tin.  7<l  .  nnd  those  in 
liuHsia  werecoiiteiit  witb2«.  4d.  to  M".  1  \d. ; 
and  yet  the  one  thing  dreaded  bytliecun- 
tinental  nations  meiitionid  wan  actually 
the  competition  of  the  llritinh. 

Professor  (aims,  a  earetui  and  thonght- 
fitl  economist,  admiiHthat  it  is  often  (let- 
ter to  employ  gooil  workmen  nt  hif;h  wages 
than  to  employ  bad  workmen  at  low  wages. 
It  is  strange,  however,  that  in  another 
argument  the  I'rafeasor  overlooks  thatad- 
miMtion.  He  places  the  power  of  a  trade 
uuion  at  a  lower  point  than  any  other 
economii-t  who  has  given  them  a  word  of 
praiHe.  Me  states  that  all  the  unit  n  can 
do  is  to  enfoii  e  a  rise  when  it  should  take 
place — and  not  always  then  ;  but  he  thinks 
them  incompettnt  to  obtain  a  rice  when 
the  economic  conditions  do  rot  warrant  a 
riNe.  Surely  Prol'esoor  Cairns  misnnder- 
Htmds  the  object  of  a  trade  union,  if  bo 
think  a  part  of  its  programme  is  to  attempt 
t<>  obtain  a  riiie  when  economic  conditions 
do  not  warrant  such  rise.  Failure  would 
be  certain  to  follow  such  a  policy.  The 
diflerences  between  employers  and  em- 
ployed do  not  arise  from  any  such  notion, 
but  from  the  general  policy  of  the  mnstera 
in  systematically  r<  fusing  to  acknowledge 
that  the  economic  conditions  are  evrr  such 
as  to  warrant  a  ri«e.  As  Professor  Cairns 
says,  the  question  is  :  "Is  there  a  margin 
of  wealth  which  workmen  by  any  com- 
bination can  conquer V"  The  men  think 
there  is  not  a  mere  margin,  but  a  vast  ter- 
ritory to  which  they  are  entitled,  and  the 
experiences  of  the  past  fill  them  with  Furo 
and  certain  hopes  as  to  the  future.  They 
see  the  final  result,  and  are. determined 
upon  its  speedy  realization.  Nor  do  they 
fear  that  which  Professor  Cairns  dreads, 
viz.,  thnt  in  consequence  of  advanced 
wages,  capital  must  be  withdrawn,  and 
wages  therefore  fall.  Such  can  only  be  tho 
case  when  wages  are  unduly  advanced, 
about  which  there  need  be  no  alarm.  At 
any  rate,  the  workmen  have  no  such  fear. 
They  are  alive  to  the  admission  made  by 
Professor  Cairas,  to  which  allusion  has  been 
made  ;  and  they  are  acquainted  with  tlie 
facte  above  given,  showing  that  well-paid, 
intelligent  utisans,  when  not  over-worked, 
are  always  cheapest  in  the  end. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here,  in  porenthe- 


M 


\y--\ 


H,!l 


n\n,  that  nlthoUKh  tnul«  nniona  hiive  a  fiir 
iiioro  |N>witrl'ul  iiilliirufa  ovrr  waK*""— ('<»i- 
Hiiiutly  ini|MrtiuK  uii  upward  U'liileDcy— 
Ihaii  i'rot«wior  CalritN  ituuiiiiK^.  y«t  it  In 
likewiM  an  error  on  the  part  nl'  thflM  who 
tliiiik  that  Iratle  nnioiiiHtii  Ht-rkH  to  iletrr- 
niine  the  rate  of  waK^H.  It  ciuiiiot  do  that ; 
it  fiiiiuol  do  more  than  ufl'wt  thrni.  A 
triuin  MM'letjr  may  retard  a  tall  or  ncrrle- 
ritte  u  riite,  hut  it  rannot  change  the  law 
which  rexulatcB  the  llnctualiouH,  or  rentier 
(HTinunent  that  whirh  in  itn  very  eHMcuce 
H  temporary. 

It  irt  utonoe  aeen  that  the  initancen  of 
wfll  piiid  hut  remunerative  hilmr,  added 
to  those  facta  which  were  adduced  in  mip- 
port  of  n  Himilar  arKuniont  in  the  previoua 
chapter  in  regard  to  the  reduction  of  the 
iiourit  of  lulior,  nhow  that  the  heueticiul 
elftMttM  of  the  Huccem  of  iinioniRm  on  tlie 
tratle  of  the  country  nro  not  at  the  coHt  of 
the  capitaliai,  but  to  hi»  advant^ige  and 
that  that  ndvantoge  im  not  leM  hut  grcHter 
liy  his  pay  ing  higher  wngea  for  Hhorter  houn*. 

It  wiw  very  RurpriMing  to  notice  the  facil- 
ity with  which  the  employera,  in  1H74, 
fon«d  a  K<!i)eral  reduction  of  wagen.  Even 
if  the  f.tlj  in  price  demanded  mum  a  reduc- 
tion— which  is  by  no  meauH  clear — yet  it  in 
Htninge  that  the  men  ho  reailily  helietM 
their  employers,  (ireat  cure  is  taken  to 
register  the  prices  of  all  commodities ; 
very  little  attention  is  bestowed  to  regis- 
tering the  rates  of  wages.  It  is.  I  think, 
Mr.  Frederic  Karrison  who  points  ont  that 
even  newttpapers,  speaking  of  commmlities, 
announce  an  "upward  tendency,"  or  a 
"slight  iniproTenient,"  or  "an  increased 
buoyancy  ;"  but  that  no  such  steps  are 
taken  in  regard  to  latwr.  On  the  other 
ha'id,  "one  of  the  most  experienceil  eogi- 
ueera  in  Kngland,  the  se<'retary  of  one  of 
our  mo'<t  useful  commisHion.s,  has  repeatedly 
s.iid  that  he  never  knew  a  labor  question  in 
which  employers  published  the  truth." 
The  inconsistency  of  the  employers,  too,  is 
often  very  startling.  Thus  when  the  West 
Yorkshire  colliers  demanded  an  increase  of 
wages,  because  the  price  of  coal  had  ad- 
Tftuced,  the  reply  of  the  owners  was  that 
the  price  of  coal  had  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  tho  rate  of  wages.  No  sooner, 
however,  did  coal  fall  than  the  owners 
demanded  a  reduction  of  wages,  stating 
that  although  "the  price  of  coal  did  not 
diretitly  control  the  ratio  of  the  rate  of 
wages,  yet  they  could  not  conceal  from 
themselves  that  it  had  some  effect,  and  that 
it  wa«,  at  any  rate,  au  index  of  the  time 
when  a  riie  or  fall  in  wages  should  take 
place."  It  is  a  pity  they  did  not  see  this 
when  an  increase  was  demanded  !  When, 
too,  the  men  have  asked  for  an  advance  of, 
say,  10  per  cent.,  and  the  masters  have  not 
only  refused  it,  but,  as  has  often  taken 
place,  demanded  a  reduction  of  10  per 
cent,  out  of  sheer  opposition,  it  ia  indeed 


Nurprising  that  the  men  have  shown  so 
miirli  litrbeitruncc.  With  some  few  exct-p- 
lions,  the  men  have  asked  f«r  "  IVace  on 
fair  terms;"  and  the  employers  have  an- 
swered, "  War,  and  an  uncnnditinnal  nur- 
runder."  The  men  have  nHkrd  lor  bread , 
and  have  received  a  stone.  One  of  the  l>ei>t 
iiillueiices  th»t  irotle  nnioniHm  can  have  on 
the  trade  of  the  country  is  the  one  which 
toaches  the  euiployers  that  what  is  Mxi^tht 
is  not  a  favor,  but  justice  ;  and  that  as  the 
iiiauufiMttucer  niuk»H  as  nuich  as  he  can  out 
oi  the  dealer,  so  will  the  weaver  nuike  as 
much  tm  he  can  out  of  the  mnnuluctnrer. 
The  sooner  the  eni|>loyers  see  this  the 
l>etter.  I'rofeHHor  Fawcett  says  "tliere 
must  constantly  he  a  deadening  intluenie 
depressing  industry  us  long  as  antagonism 
of  interest  continues  between  cniployeis 
and  employed,  and  the  noblest,  highest, 
and  in  every  sense  best  etlbrts  of  trade 
unionism  are  those  that  tend  to  remove 
that  anUigonisni." 

There  v«a,  indeed,  be  little  donbt  that 
the  unions  have  made  many  a  great  and 
praiseworthy  sacrifice  in  submitting  to  re- 
ductions. In  order  to  avoid  a  collision  the 
men  have  yielded  their  just  rights  with 
very  little  grumbling.  It  by  no  means 
follows  that  iMicause  coal  falls  in  pri<e  that 
wages  must  immediately  fall.  In  order  to 
justify  a  fall  in  wsges,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  price  of  coal  (or,  of  conise,  any  other 
commodity  that  may  be  under  considera- 
tion) should  fall  below  that  point  at  which 
an  advance  took  place.  The  men  have  a 
right  to  resist  any  attempt  to  r«dnce  wages 
nntil  such  a  state  of  affairs  conies  al  nut. 

There  is  another  economic  effect  ot  trade 
unionism  which  deserves  at  least  a  passing 
mention.  The  knowledge  that  men  have 
the  power  to  strike,  stimulates  the  inventive 
faculties  of  employers.  A  strike  is  not  al- 
ways confined  in  its  effects  to  the  particu- 
lar branch  of  the  trade  that  makes  demands 
from  the  employer.  A  strike  of  puddlers 
enforces  idleness  on  other  ironworkers: 
while  "finishers"  cannot  work  if  "fullers" 
won't.  It  is,  therefore,  to  the  advantage 
of  the  employers  to  have  the  various  pro- 
cesses of  mana£EU!tnre  as  independent  of 
each  other  as  possible,  so  that  if  one  depart- 
ment strikes,  the  necessity  of  another 
being  idle  may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
This  is  accomplished  by  the  intro<lnction  of 
machinery,  rendering  less  and  lees  neces- 
sary the  skill  of  workmen.  Mr.  Nasmyth, 
by  mechanical  contrivances,  reduced  the 
number  of  his  men  ftom  3000  to  1600 
without  redacing  the  piodnction.  It  has 
been  observed  that,  in  consequence  of 
almost  all  great  strikes,  the  employers 
have  set  their  wits  to  work,  as  the  saying 
is,  and  have  invented  such  improvements 
that  they — and  through  them  the  world — 
have  been  very  great  gainers.  A  notable 
instance  of  this  ia  fotind  in  the  history  of 


hiive  Hliown  m 

h  lunie  tew  rxnrp- 

leil  far  "  I'dU'e  on 

iiployeri  b«v«  an- 

uconditinnul  *!ir- 

iiHkfd  liir  hrt'Hd, 

Ouenl'tliphMit 

■niHni  can  lmvt>  on 

,   i»  the  one  which 

■at  what  in  mxikIiI 

'  ;  and  that  an  the 

iiu'h  aH  hp  cnn  otit 

«  Wfav«r  niiikc  a* 

the  niontiluttiirer. 

:*-tn    «e«   thiN   the 

rett    MjH    "thire 

radeninft  intlurixe 

DtigaM  aDtnyouiMu 

etween   tniploypia 

iiohlfnt,  highpftt, 

t  ctVorts  of  trade 

t  t«Qd  to  remove 

little  donbt  that 
many  n  (treat  and 
Hiiljiuitl)D|{  to  r«- 
oid  Hcollmiou  the 
jiiHt  ritchtB  with 
It  by  DO  mranM 
ThIIh  in  price  thill 
tall.     In  order  to 
i«  nec«H»ary  that 
coarse,  any  other 
under  connidera- 
lat  point  at  which 
The  men  b»ye  a 
St  to  r»d nee  wages 
m  coniea  a!  not. 
Die  effect  oi  trade 
at  least  a  paasing: 
(e  that  men  have 
ates  the  invenUve 
A  Btrike  is  not  a) - 
[■ts  to  the  particn- 
it  makes  demands 
trike  of  puddlers 
her  ironworkers; 
work  if  "fullers" 

0  the  advantage 
)  the  various  pro- 
independent  of 

hatif  onedepart- 
sitj  of  another 
d  to  a  minimum. 
le  introdnction  of 

1  and  less  neces- 

Mr.  Nasmytb, 
XB,  reduced  the 
n  3000  to  1600 
idnction.  It  has 
consequence  of 
the  employers 
'k,  as  the  saying 
^h  improvements 
liem  the  world — 
ners.  A  notable 
in  the  history  of 


ihe  strngKle  in  INRl  of  the  engineem  with  | 
their  niiiMierM,  to  which  refensm'e  hiu<  tievn 
alreitdy  niiMlc  The  priNwwt  ulliided  to  in 
gulnK  <>D  At  preaerit  very  rapidly.  In  the 
iron  intlitfilTieiteNpecially,  the  iinprovenuMitH 
in  miitt>rinl,  and  the  ulmoMt  daily  intnxliiu- 
tl<in  of  nxwty  invente<i  UlMr-itavInx  i^m- 
trivanrtfH  limve  reiialte<t  in  one  man  lieing 
diile  U>  do  tvliut  two  and  a  half  men  wvre 
required  '  >  do  tliirty  yeant  ago,  t4>  say 
noiliiuf^  the  important  fact  that  the 
niat.<<riul  i.-i  titn  tiniuH  more  durable  than  it 
w.tH,  and  the  niitchiues  wear  out  much 
more  nlowly.  These  facts  not  only  t>eur 
out  the  arKunient,  hut  should  induce  the 
men  tx(  streiiKthun  their  auions,  to  compete 
with  the  diMplm;ed  Inlxir;  and,  wherever 
posMJIile,  reap  two  prodUi  by  becoming 
owiierN  of  the  machines  they  coUHtruct,  as 
wu'<  long  ago  suggested  by  the  late  Mr. 
John  Kline. 

The  doctrine  that  that  policy  is  best 
which  gives  the  greatest  gomi  to  the  great- 
est number,  has  become  an  axiom.  Now, 
in  every  community  the  majority  niUHt 
always  consist  of  working  men  and  their 
fiiinilieH,  and  it  does  seem  a  natural  way  of 
proceeding  that,  if  you  give  a  greater  hap- 
piness to  a  greater  ntimbier,  a  step  is  being 
made  towards  realizing  Bentham's  cele- 
brated dictum.  The  moral  effects,  then,  of 
high  wages  are  great.  Of  course  they  might 
be  greater,  but  a  little  experience  will 
bring  that  about.  Htrikes,  therefore,  and 
the  trade  societies  which  render  strikes  pos- 
sible, are,  for  these  various  reasons,  not  a 
mischievous,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  valua- 
ble part  of  the  existing  machinery  of  so- 
ciety. 

It  would  be  a  work  of  snpererogati<«n  U> 
discuss  here  the  great  adv<tu>.^es  of  more 
leisure  to  the  working  class,  but  as  it  is 
one  of  the  objects  of  a  trade  union  to  ob- 
tain shorter  hours,  and  as  the  realization 
of  such  a  policy  has  a  very  beneficial  effect 
on  those  who  belong  to  trade  societies,  the 
question  cannot  be  passed  over  withoat  a 
few  words.*  The  advantages  of  recreation 
are  acknowledged,  but  few  steps  are  taken 
to  afford  the  means  to  indulge  in  it. 

The  men  in  various  trades  are  not  only 
showing  a  desire  to  generally  improve 
them'telves,  but  to  obtain  a  deeper  knowl- 
ledgv  of  their  own  particular  trades.  Some 
time  ago,  Mr.  Wilcock,  the  then  president 
of  the  London  Rcyal  Lodge  of  the  General 
Union  of  Carpenters,  of  England,  initiated 
a  series  of  lectures  to  its  members,  and  the 
president  himself  delivered  one  on  "The 


*It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  a  long- 
hours  day  means  decT  labor.  Mr.  Thorold  KoKen 
has  shown,  In  his  recent  work,  that  it  is  also  in- 
compatible with  good  workmanship.  Speaking 
of  the  excellent  masonry  of  Merton  Tower,  Ox- 
ford, four  hundred  years  old,  he  says,  "  I  am  per- 
suaded that  such  perfect  masonry  would  have 
been  Inoompatlble  with  a  loug-hours  day !" 


Knowledge  and  Use  of  Hcales  u  Applied 
to  the  Hiiildlng  Tnule,"  The  following 
month  Mr.  I>ih«  gave  a  lecture  on  t'reehund 
drawing.  At  present,  in  IahxIoii,  there 
are  several  technical  classes  conducted  by 
artisans,  and  the  City  of  (iuilds  Institute 
as  well  as  the  Polytechnic  Instltutiun,  and 
the  Artisans'  Technical  AstMM'iation,  are 
doing  much  to  promote  that  object. 

There  can  Ims  no  doubt  as  to  the  effect  of 
thus  teaching  men  that  what  their  hands 
find  to  do  should  l>e  done  with  all  their 
might,  however  weak  that  might  may  be. 
Men  are  made  for  something  l>etter  than 
to  be  hewers  of  womi  and  drawers  of  wa- 
ter. Indeed,  the  plan  of  lecturing  Just  re- 
ferre<l  to,  rapidly  Itears  fruit,  and  some  of 
the  members  of  the  union  mentioned  have, 
on  account  of  their  superior  knowledge  of 
their  trade,  been  appointed  head  foremen 
to  some  of  the  principal  firms.  Other 
unions  have  Himilnr  means  of  improving 
their  members  and  raising  their  tastes  ; 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  ere  long,  the 
practice  will  l>e  nniversal.  The  more  time 
the  unions  can  obtain  for  their  men  to  do 
this  (and  workmen  thus  educated  will  be 
better  workmen)  the  better  it  will  be  ;  and 
it  is,  therefore,  for  the  unions  to  struggle, 
with  all  the  means  in  their  power,  in  order 
that  the  men  may  get  as  much  wages  as 
they  can  (without  infringing  upon  that 
limit  when  their  productions  w-uld  be  nn- 
remunerative)  for  as  little  wjik  as  possible, 
performed  with  a  minim  aiU'  of  inconveni- 
ence. 

Indeed,  the  great  advn  itage  of  anion 
men  over  non-union  men  is  being  discov- 
ered by  the  employers,  and  they  are  be- 
ginning to  acknowledge  the  fact.  A  Liver- 
pool carpenter  recently  told  the  author  that 
the  bosses  knew  the  union  men  were  the 
best  workmen,  and  that  it  was  a  regular 
thing  to  give  them  one  penny  per  nonr 
more  than  the  rate  fixed  npon  by  the 
society.  This  is  not  surprising,  as  no  man 
can  be  a  union  carpenter  unless  he  be  in 
good  health,  have  worked  a  certain  number 
of  years  at  the  trade,  be  a  good  workman, 
of  steady  habits  and  good  moral  character. 

Unionists  are  not  desirous  ot  having  in- 
competent or  unsteady  workmen  as  asso- 
ciates. They  can  see  that  such  men  do  as 
much  to  lower  wages  as  anything  else.  The 
good  workmen  know  this,  and  they  crowd 
into  the  unions  as  fast  as  they  can.  Of 
conrse  it  is  not  maintained  here  that  all 
unionist  workmen  are  proficient.  There 
are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  several  unionists 
who  are  not  good  workmen  ;  but  there  are 
few  good  workmen  who  are  not  unionists. 
The  men  out  of  union  are,  for  "  the  most 
part,  either  inferior  workmen,  employed 
on  inferior  work  at  reduced  rates,  or  those 
who  have  belonged  to  it  and  are  erased.  Of 
these  last,  some  left  because  they  did  not 
wish  to  pay.  to  it,  or,  indeed,  to  anything 


-J 


IC-':. 


else  that  they  conld  avoid  ;  and  the  rest, 
by  far  the  greatest  number,  are  thuse  who 
have  been  eraued  for  non-payment  through 
their  unfortunate  habits  oi  intemperance, 
which  left  them  no  means  of  paying."  The 
trade  unions  may  fairly  consider  whether 
or  not  it  comes  within  their  province  to 
take  even  stronger  measures  to  ensure  the 
efficiency  of  their  members.  A  "more 
detinite  standard  of  efficiency"  than  at 
present  might  be  decided  upon,  so  that  a 
man's  union  ticket  would  be  a  standard  of 
competency,  and  accepted  as  such  by  the 
employers. 

If  something  of  this  kind  were  practica- 
ble in  every  trade— and  the  unions  have  an 
excellent  organization  for  carrying  out  the 
suggestion — it  would  be  of  infinite  bene- 
fit to  the  community.  The  employers  would 
readily  acknowledge  certificates  of  profi- 
ciency issued  by  the  unions.  It  may  be 
added  that  the  unions  are  showing  a  lauda- 
ble desire  to  take  a  high  tone  in  regard  to 
this  matter.  They  have,  over  and  over 
again,  protested  against  the  "scamping" 
of  work  and  cheating  of  purchasers,  against 
jerry  building,  sizing  cotton,  etc.,  etc.  They 
are  not  "  the  fault  of  the  artisan — they  are 
his  misfortune,"  says  an  official  report,  and 
continues:  "We  know,  from  experience, 
that  the  properly-trained  and  highly-skilled 
workmau  is  the  first  to  suffer  by  the  shame- 
ful process.  When  circumstances  press  him 
into  this  circle  of  competition,  he  bos  to 
undergo  a  second  apprenticeship  to  acquire 
this  sleight' of-hand  system,  during  which 
he  earns  less  wages."  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes 
thinks  the  unions  "are  powerful  enough 
now  to  insist,  if  they  choose  to  do  so,  that 
no  unionist  shall  work  where  such  prac- 
tices prevail."  Mr.  Thorold  Rogers  takes 
a  similar  view,  adding  that  the  men  should 
protect  the  public,  denouncing  and  expos- 
ing "dishonest  and  scantling  work."  I 
may  add  that  the  desire  of  the  workmen 
in  the  direction  above  indicated,  is  shown 
by  the  objection,  on  the  part'  of  artisans, 
to  clerks  and  others  studying  in  technical 
classes,  lest  such  should  learn  just  sufficient 
to  be  a  dabbler  at  the  trade,  and  thus  cause 
to  be  thrown  into  the  market  a  quantity  of 
incompetent  labor.  The  same  feeling  is 
shown  in  the  desire  for  sound  regulations 
in  regard  to  apprentices,  for  it  is  obvious 
that  any  skilled  trade,  not  protected  by  an 
apprenticeship  system,  must  always  occupy 
a  low  status. 

The  most  important  educational  work 
which  the  trade  unions  are  performing,  is 
that  of  familiarizing  the  workman — and, 
for  that  matter,  the  employer  as  well — with 
the  true  relations  of  capital  to  labor.  The 
unions  are  doing  good  work  in  another  di- 
rection. Their  attention  is  not  solely  con- 
fined to  questions  affecting  capital  and 
labor.  The  trade  unions  not  only  wish 
the  laborers  to  be  good  workmen — they  are 


also  determined  to  make  them  gnod  citi- 
zens, and  are  anxious  to  do  away  with  all 
class  distinctions.  The  men  are  beginning 
to  feel  "the  glorious  privilege  of  being  in- 
dependent." It  is  time  they  did.  Nothing 
tends  so  much  to  degrade  a  class  nn  the 
knowledge  that  it  is  dependent.  The  day 
has  gone  by  when  a  man  must  feel  loyal 
and  dutiful  to  another  simply  because  he 
has  been  born  on  his  estate,  cr  becntit^e  he 
works  in  his  factory.  The  men  are  willing  ' 
enough  to  receive  the  anibasi'ador  ot  the 
employer  with  all  dre  respect,  but  th*  y  de- 
mand (on  the  peril  of  a  strike)  that  their 
own  delegates  shall  be  equally  well  re- 
ceived. It  is  now  acknowledged  that  the 
demeanor  most  fitting  towards  the  poor  is 
that  which  is  most  fitting  towards  every 
one.  The  leaders  of  the  unions  have  per- 
ceived that  the  general  tendency  ol  human 
progress  is  in  this  direction,  and  they  have 
deteimined  not  to  oppose,  but  to  assist  it. 

It  is  not  only  part  ol  the  policy  of  trade 
urions  to  demand,  as  rights,  those  piivi- 
leges  which  are  now  withheld  fiom  them, 
but  also  to  render  their  membeis  fit  to  ex- 
ercise those  rights.  It  has  already  been 
shown  that  civility  to  their  employ  eis,  as 
well  as  sobriety,  are  essential  beiore  a  man 
can  bectme  a  practical  trade  unionist. 

When  men  see  rules,  and  subscribe  to 
them,  against  certain  wrong-doing  aiid  evil 
practices,  they  (for  use  doth  breed  a  habit 
in.  a  man)  look  upon  those  practices  us 
wrong,  and  they  soon  become,  in  every  way, 
better  men.  Not  only  do  the  unions  take 
steps  to  prevent  evil,  they  exert  themselves 
to  promote  good. 

A  great  deal  is  made  by  anti-nnioniF^ts  of 
tho  notion  that  when  a  man  joins  a  union 
he  loses  his  liberty^  and  becomes  a  slave  to 
the  union  agent  or  the  union  officers.  It 
may  be  very  properly  replied  that  a  man, 
it'  he  likes,  has  a  right  to  give  np  his  lib- 
erty. The  argument,  however,  if  such  it 
can  be  called,  is  wrong  in  fact.  The  work- 
man in  delegating  the  task  of  asking  more 
wages,  instead  of  asking  them  personally, 
is  no  more  giving  np  his  liberty  than  a 
client  is  in  hiring;  an  advocate  to  plead  for 
him  to  a  jury.  The  men  in  a  union  come 
together  of  their  own  accord  :  they  do  not 
so,  and  do  not  remain  so,  unless  they  think 
it  to  their  advantage ;  and  they  can  leave 
the  society  whenever  they  like.  To  say 
that  this  is  giving  np  one's  liberty,  is  the 
same  in  principle  as  saying  that  a  man,  in 
obeying  certain  laws  of  his  country,  of 
which  he  disapproves,  is  giving  np  his 
liberty.  It  has  always  been  an  acknowl- 
edged principle  that  a  man  may  voluntarily 
submit  to  certain  restrictions  on  his  liberty 
for  the  common  good. 

The  trade  unionist,  too,  is  much  freer  in 
regard  to  his  union  than  is  the  citizen  in 
regard  to  the  State.  It  is  with  great  diffi- 
culty the  latter  can  throw  off  his  oblig»- 


•m^^'mmm.  i4».^jjB1l>  Jl|         T' 


iiii|W)iWii    ■."■■  n.'i     -,i-i'^'*ii\vm0mmfP"     i.i,   in^mnn ., 


37 


lake  them  good  citi- 
to  do  away  with  all 
le  men  are  beginning 
privilege  of  being  in- 
le  they  did.    Nothing 
grade  a  cinm  iin  the 
dependent.     The  day 
man  mnst  feel  loyal 
St  simply  becaiihr  he 
estate,  or  bei-miKe  he 
The  men  are  w  iliing 
le  ambas^ndor  ol  the 
respect,  but  thi  y  de- 
1  a  strike)  that  their 
be  equally  well  re- 
iknowledged  that  the 
t  towards  the  poor  is 
Htting  towards  every 
the  unions  have  per- 
il tendency  ol  human 
iction,  and  they  buve 
)ose,  bnt  to  assist  it. 
Jl  the  policy  of  trade 
i  rights,  thoee  piivi- 
withheld  fiom  them, 
nr  membeistit  to  ex- 
It  has  already  bten 

0  their  employe] m.  as 
ssential  before  a  man 

1  trade  unionist. 

les,  and  subscribe  to 
wrong-doing  atd  evil 
B  doth  breed  a  habit 
1  those  practices  a» 
ecome,  in  every  way, 
y  do  the  unions  take 
ihey  exert  themselves 

B  by  anti-unionictg  of 
a  man  joins  a  union 
d  becomes  a  slave  to 
e  union  officers.  It 
replied  that  a  man, 
t  to  give  up  his  lib- 

however,  if  such  it 
!!  in  fact.  The  work- 
task  of  asking  moi« 
og  them  personally, 
>  his  liberty  than  a 
dvocate  to  plead  for 
len  in  a  nnion  come 
iccord  :  they  do  not 
o,  unless  they  think 
and  they  can  leave 
they  like.  To  say 
>ne's  liberty,  is  the 
ring  that  a  man,  in 
of  his  country,  of 

is  giving  up  his 
'  been  an  acknowl- 
lan  may  voluntarily 
i^iona  on  hia  liberty 

x),  is  much  freer  in 

ax  is  the  citicen  in 

is  with  great  diffi- 

row  off  his  oblig*- 


tions,  and  then  but  to  rest  under  fresh 
restrictions  ;  bnt  the  former  can  do  so  with 
the  greatest  facility,  though,  lor  reasons 
mentioned  in  a  former  chapter,  he  seldom 
avails  himself  of  the  opportunity. 

luasmuch,  however,  an  most  trade  unions 
are  beneflt  societies,  they  have  all  the  in- 
fluence (;ind  none  of  the  flummery)  which 
flowH  Iroin  those  bodies.  To  teach  men  to 
prepare  for  a  rainy  day,  to  lay  by  for  old 
age,  m  protect  themselves  from  poverty  in 
(use  of  accident  or  failing  health,  loss  of 
tiH>ls,  etc.,  and  to  reward  merit  and  incul- 
cate the  principle  of  brotherly  love  and 
l>enev()lence,  are  surely  laudable  objects, 
and  so  long  as  the  criteria  are  sound,  they 
cannot  help  but  haveagood  influence  upon 
those  who  are  prudent  enough  to  deny 
themselves  to-day,  in  order  that  they  may 
enjoy  to-morrow. 

Tbe»e  societies,  too,  are  exceedingly  use- 
ful in  the  mass  of  valuable  statistics  they 
collect.  The  death  rates  and  the  causes  of 
death  in  various  trades  point  to  a  field  in 
which  medical  men  may  work  to  great  ad- 
van  ttige  ;  while  the  fluctuations  in  the  rates 
of  wa^es,  and  the  gradual  shortening  of 
liourA  present  an  equally  interesting  pro- 
blem to  political  economists.  This  infor- 
mation, too,  is  given  for,  comparatively 
speak  inij,  small  districts,  and  the  problems 
referred  to  can  therefore  be  studied  when 
loc  il  influences  interfere  with  general  laws. 
Aito)!ether,  there  is  ample  food  for  both  the 
student,  the  philosopher,  and  the  states- 
man, in  the  vast  amount  of  literature  that 
is  aiinually  issued  by  the  trade  unions ; 
and  which,  by  the  way,  must  keep  em- 
ployed a  great  number  of  printers,  thus 
beneliting  a  trade  by  the  mere  action  of 
recording  the  experience  of  their  existence. 

It  ha<)  been  pointed  out  that  combination 
amongst  workmen  has  existed  ever  since 
men  had  the  intelligence  to  nnderstand 
that  they  were  oppressed  by  those  whose 
position  gave  them  the  power  to  oppress. 
The  power  to  combine  became  more  and 
more  generally  acknowledged,  until  at 
length,  in  spite  of  unjust  and  partial  laws, 
trade  unions  became  a  fact.  From  combi- 
nations against  oppression  they  developed 
into  associations  having  for  their  object  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  work- 
ing class  It  has  also  been  shown  that  the 
orgini^'Uion  of  a  trade  union  is  pre-emi- 
nently titted  to  carry  out  that  object,  and, 
aa  pr  mf  of  that,  it  has  been  argued  :  1st, 
That  t  rade  unions  have  succeeded  in  rais- 
ing wages  and  reducing  the  number  of 
workins;  hours.  2d,  That  these  reforms  do 
not  benefit  the  laborer  at  the  cost  of  either 
the  capitalist  or  the  consumer  ;  as,  between 
certain  limits,  it  is  fonnd  that  high  pay 
and  the  prospect  of  an  early  cessation  from 
work  :iro  such  incentives  to  industry  that 
the  produce  of  labor  is  actually  greater 


than  under  a  system  of  long  hours  and  low 
pay.  3d,  That  the  workmen  have  i>Hch 
confidence  in  the  benefits  (hey  derive  Irom 
union,  that,  after  the  experience  of  "half 
a  millennium,"  they  are  crowding  into  so- 
cieties, into  unions,  in  a  greatsr  ratio  every 
year.  4th,  That  their  dtclared  object  is  to 
prevent  strikes,  and  substitute  arbitrations; 
and  although  the  latter  mode  of  settling 
disputes  is  olten  proposed  by  the  men  and 
refused  by  the  masters,  it  is  seldom  pro- 
posed by  the  masters  and  still  lei-s  olten 
refused  by  the  men.  It  has  been  argued 
further,  that  such  being  the  objects  of  trade 
unions,  and  such  their  success  in  obtaining 
those  objects,  the  influence  of  that  success 
must  be  very  beneficial  ;  1st,  Because  high 
wages  means  increased  comforts,  which  are 
not  only  a  social  but  a  commercial  advan- 
tage. High  wages  means  incieasfd  pro- 
duction, also  the  double  blessing  just  men- 
tioned. 2d,  Because  high  wages  does  not 
mean  enhanced  prices,  but  the  contraiy. 
3d,  Because  the  principles  of  trade  union- 
ism teach  men  the  prudence  of  denying 
themselves  something  to-day,  in  order  that 
they  may  have  greater  advantages  to-mor- 
row; and  the  duty  of  self-sacrifice,  by 
calling  upon  them  to  contribute,  out  of 
their  meagre  wealth,  towards  the  allevia- 
of  the  Bufferings  of  their  ieUow-men.  4ih, 
Because  trade  unions  endeavor  to  obtain 
for  the  working  classes  more  leisure  for  re- 
creation and  study.  5th,  Because  by  lec- 
tures and  other  means,  the  unions  endeavor 
to  make  their  members  better  woikmen  ; 
and  by  rules  which  stigmatize  and  punish 
the  idle,  the  vicious,  and  the  incompetent, 
do  all  in  their  power  to  make  workmen 
better  citizens.  It  makes  clear  to  them 
that  capital  does  not  make  the  man,  and 
that  a  laborer  is  no  worse  because  lie  works. 
'*  Jack  is  as  good  as  his  master  ;"  and  the 
men  know  that  if  employers  would  only 
acknowledge  this — if  they  would  only  meet 
their  workmen  as  men  on  an  equal  looting 
with  themselves,  and  discuss  the  wages 
system  with  them,  as  the  late  Mr.  Braseey, 
Mr.  E.  Akroyd,  Mr.  W.  E.  Forster,  and 
others  were  in  the  habit  of  doing — then 
strikes  would  be  impofsible. 

It  is  really  difficult  to  conceive  how  an 
institution  with  such  noble  objects,  having 
attained  those  objects,  can  be  anything  but 
a  great  blessing  to  the  community  in  which 
it  is  placed. 

Trade  unionism,  then,  has  a  great  fntnre 
before  it.  Its  ultimate  result  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  to  convince  both  employer 
and  employed  that  they  are  the  truest 
friends,  each  of  the  other,  for  each  derives 
his  revenue  from  the  other.  The  prosperity 
of  the  country  is  greatly  due  io  the  infln- 
ence  of  unions  on  trade,  and  therefore  that 
influence  benefits  the  capitalist  as  well  aa 
the  workman. 


^ 


*f>^iifms 


^ig0mmimmm'~' 


)» 


APPENDIX. 


THE  AMERICAN  FEDERATION  OF  LABOR — ITS  HISTORY  AND  AIMS. 


By  p.  J.  McGuiEE. 

The  National  T^hor  Union— Various  national  labor  oonventions,  from  1866  to  1876— Industrial  panto 
of  1873  to  1878— SovereignH  of  Industry— Patrons  of  HuHbandry— Industrial  Brotherhood— Junior 
Sons  of  '76— International  Labor  Union— AmalKamated  Labor  Union- The  Pittsburgh  Conven- 
tion of  1881— Formation  of  the  Federation  of  Trades— legislation  secured  in  Congress— Negotia- 
tions with  the  KnightH  of  I^abor— The  general  eight-hour  movement  in  May,  1886— Difl'erenoes 
with  the  Knights  of  Labor— Birth  of  the  Amerioan  Federation  of  Laboi^Ita  component  parts 
and  objects. 


Early  in  the  year  1866  the  trades'  asaem- 
blies  of  New  York  City  and  Baltimore  is- 
sned  a  call  for  a  National  Labor  Congress, 
and,  in  accordance  with  that  appeal,  one 
hundred  delegates,  representing  sixty  open 
and  secret  labor  organizations  of  all  kinds, 
and  covering  an  area  of  territory  extend- 
ing from  Portland,  Me.,  to  San  Francisco, 
met  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  on  August  20.  A 
number  of  the  labor  organizations  there 
represented  were  merely  local  unions,  bat 
a  great  many  were  national  and  interna- 
tional bodies,  snch  as  ship  carpenters,  rail- 
road men,  miners,  painters,  carriers,  win- 
dow-glass blowers,  stone  masons,  marble 
cutters  and  iron  moulders. 

At  that  convention  committees  were  ap- 
pointed to  look  into  the  expediency  of  in- 
troducing the  eight-hour  system,  of  taking 
ilitical  action,  and  forming  a  permanent 
aa*iional  organization.  The  qnestions  of 
y.  )lic  domain,  the  national  debt,  co-op- 
erative associations,  strikes,  and  convict 
labor  were  fully  discussed,  and  measure  ' 
were  adopted  for  the  organization  of  sewing 
women — a  movement  which  at  this  day  is 
occupying  the  attention  of  labor  circles  in 
New  York  City.  Among  the  many  resolu- 
tions passed  was  one  favoring  the  speedy 
restoration  of  agriculture  in  the  Soath,and 
the  upbuilding  of  that  section  upon  a  new 
basis  of  industrial  advancement. 

In  the  following  year  the  second  annual 
congress  of  the  National  Labor  Union  was 
held  in  Chicago,  attended  by  over  two  hun- 
dred delegates,  representing  trades'  unions 
in  all  the  Northern  States  and  in  six 
Southern  States.  President  Z.  C.  Whaley, 
in  his  report,  urged  that  State  organizations 
be  formed,  and  this  idea,  together  with  the 
demand  that  the  pnblic  domain  should  l)e 
reserved  for  actual  settlers,  has  since  been 
adopted  bodily  by  the  Knights  of  Labor. 
As  may  be  seen,  the  National  Labor  Union 
was  formed  in  imitation  of  the  Trades' 
Unioa  Congrest;  of  England,  in  which  local 
bodies,  not  allowed  to  discuss  politics  in 
their  meetings,  could  send  delegates  to  the 
central  body,  and  there  deal  with  questions 


of  a  political  natnre  and  thus  inflnenoe 
national  legislation  in  favor  of  the  work- 
ing classes.  Bnt  the  political  portion  of 
the  work  was  the  smaller  portion,  for  mat- 
ters of  a  social  and  industrial  character 
were  dealt  with  to  a  greater  extent. 

Two  conventions  of  the  National  Labor 
Union  were  held  in  1868,  one  in  May  and 
the  other  in  September.  The  first  con- 
vened  in  Pittsburgh,  and  the  principal  act 
of  that  session  was  an  alliance  to  cooperate 
with  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  and  the 
Grangers.  The  September  session  was  held 
in  New  York  City,  to  take  action  regarding 
the  general  movement  which  was  then 
going  on  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of 
the  eight' hoar  rule.  In  his  address  the 
chairman  pointed  ont  the  need  of  closer 
coherence  than  had  yet  been  attained  be- 
tween the  different  trades  and  callings,  and 
recommended  that  a  central  head  be  estab- 
lished, to  which  all  the  trades'  and  labor 
anions  should  be  subordinate.  This  idea 
was  not  strictly  carried  out,  however,  and 
the  mistake  in  disregarding  it  was  Bubse- 
qnently  made  plain.  The  annual  conven- 
tion of  1869  was  held  in  Chicago ;  that  of 
1870  in  Boston ;  that  of  1871  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  that  of  1872,  which  was  the  last, 
wound  up  in  Columbus,  O.  There  it  was 
decided  to  nominate  a  ticket  for  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  David  Davis,  of 
Illinois,  was  chosen  as  the  standard-hearer. 

This  drifting  into  political  action  pro- 
voked so  much  dissension  that  one  ^ocal 
organization  after  another — believing  that 
the  National  Labor  Union  had  entered  a 
field  of  operations  for  which  it  was  not 
intended — withdrew  its  support,  and  inter- 
est was  lost  in  the  central  body. 

In  the  next  year,  1873,  the  great  panic 
swept  upon  the  country  and  demolished 
the  trades'  anions.  Most  of  them  were 
bnilt  on  a  basis  of  very  low  does  atid  had 
no  beneficial  feature  that  would  hn'd  the 
members  together  when  trades'  qnentions 
failed  to  interest  them,  and,  consequently, 
both  the  local  anions  and  the  national  or^ 
ganizfttion  went  down  in  the  crash.    The 


m 


AND  AIMS. 


— InduNtHal  panic 
therbood— Junior 
tUburgh  Cbnven- 
tnorreaa — Negotia- 
1886— Diflerenoea 
component  parts 

thns  inflnenoe 
M"  of  the  work- 
bical  portion  of 
ortion,  for  mat- 
itrial  character 
'  extent, 
liational  Labor 
le  in  May  and 
The  first  con- 
le  principal  act 
oe  to  cooperate 
andry  and  the 
988ion  was  held 
ition  regarding 
lich    was  then 
itablishment  of 
is  address  the 
need  of  closer 
n  attained  he- 
ld callings,  and 
head  be  estab- 
des'  and  labor 
tte.     This  idea 
however,  and 
;  it  was  subae- 
uinnal  conven- 
licago;  that  of 
1  in  Pliiladel- 
h  was  the  last, 
There  it  wa» 
for  President 
*vid  Davis,  of 
tndard-hearer. 
tl  action  pro- 
that  one  local 
believing  that 
lad  entered  a 
ti  it  w:is  not' 
irt,  and  inter- 

)  great  panic 
1  demolished 
f  them  were 
Ines  and  had 
aid  ho'd  the 
ies'  qtifHtions 
ionseqaently, 
national  oi^ 
I  crash.    The 


distress  of  the  winter  of  1873-4,  and  the  in- 
ability of  organized  labor  to  stem  the  re- 
dactions of  wages  that  were  taking  place 
in  every  branch  of  industry,  induced  a 
number  of  leading  trades'  unionists  to  call 
another  "Industrial  Congress"  in  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y.,  for  April  14,  1874,  with  the  in- 
tention of  returning  to  the  old  lines  of  the 
National  Labor  Union,  avoiding  politics, 
and  of  forming  a  federation  of  the  trades' 
and  labor  unions  of  the  entire  country. 
There  was  represented  at  this  convention  a 
secret  organization,  then  known  as  the 
"  Sovereigns  of  Industry,"  which  was  mak- 
ing great  headway  in  the  P^astern  and  Mid- 
dle States,  with  a  purpose  of  establishing 
co-operative  stores  and  eliminating  the 
"middle  man"  from  commercial  trans- 
actions. Another  organization  represented 
was  that  known  as  the  "  Industrial  Broth- 
erhood of  the  United  States,"  also  secret 
and  somewhat  of  the  character  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor. 

In  the  convention  there  was  a  serious 
clash  between  the  champions  of  these  two 
bodies  on  the  question  of  a  permanent  or- 
ganization, some  of  the  delegates  desiring 
to  form  an  order  similar  to  the  Industrial 
Brotherhood,  and  others  favoring  the  Sov- 
ereigns of  Industry  plan.  A  platform  was 
finally  adopted,  however,  which  was  almost 
identical  in  every  respect  with  the  declara- 
tion of  principles  of  the  Knights  of  Labor, 
and  from  which  the  latter  has  copied. 

The  movement  to  form  a  permanent  in- 
dustrial congress,  nevertheless,  seemed  to 
end  with  that  session  of  the  convention, 
and  no  further  efibrts  were  made  in  that 
direction  until  a  call  for  a  national  con- 
vention, to  be  held  at  Tyrone,  Pa.,  in  De- 
cember, 1875,  was  issued  by  a  secret  or- 
ganization, which  was  at  that  time  a 
promising  rival  of  <  .le  Knights  of  Labor, 
entitled  the  "Junior  Sons  of  '76."  The 
design  of  this  gathering  was  to  form  a  com- 
bination of  all  the  scattered  fragments  of 
the  labor  movement.  Delegates  were  in 
attendance  from  the  "Junior  Sons  of  '76," 
the  Knights  of  Labor,  the  Grangers,  open 
trades'  unions,  and  social  democratic  or- 
ganizations, as  they  were  called  at  that 
time.  Their  worthy  designs  did  not  mate- 
rialize, however,  but  were  dissipated  in 
Tain  tsJk.  The  "  Junior  Sons  "  themselves 
were  very  short  lived.  After  "76"  had 
rolled  away,  no  trace  of  them  could  be 
found.  In  that  year  they  had  engaged  in 
politics  as  an  order  thronghout  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  had  elected  several  members  of 
the  Legislature  on  labor  measures.  After 
having  done  that,  their  mission  seemed  to 
have  been  fulfilled  and  they  disbanded. 

During  the  same  period  the  Indnstrial 
Brotherhood,  which  was  numerically  weak, 
but  extended  through  many  sections  of  the 
ooontry,  was  also  attempting  to  outrival 
the  Knighta  of  Labor.    Another  order  of  a 


general  and  secret  character  had  sprung  up 
in  the  early  part  of  1877,  known  as  the 
"International  Labor  Union,"  having 
branches  in  seventeen  States.  But  little  or 
nothing  of  national  conseciuence  was  done 
by  the  trades'  and  labor  unions  until  187H, 
when  they  everywhere  began  to  re-orgnn- 
ize,  and,  profiting  by  their  previous  fail- 
ures, laid  the  foundations  ot  local  unions 
upon  a  basis  of  high  dues,  introducing 
varions  beneficial  features,  such  as  sii-k, 
funeral,  and  disability  benefits,  and  other 
financial  provisions  calculated  to  hold  the 
members  more  firmly  to  the  organizati<>ii. 
These  local  bodies  in  turn  combined  mid 
formed  trades'  assemblies,  trades'  conncil.x. 
etc.  In  these  central  bodies  Knights  of 
I^bor  and  trades'  unionists  were  bi'th 
united. 

Coming  up,  however,  to  the  preliminary 
steps  that  led  ultimately  to  the  formation 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  a 
call  was  issued  conjointly  by  the  "Knights 
of  Industry"  and  a  society  known  as  the 
"  Amalgamated  Labor  Union '' — an  ofllnhoot 
of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  composed  ot  dis- 
afTected  members  of  that  order — for  a  c«  n- 
vention  to  meet  in  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  on 
August  2,  1881.  The  Amalgamated  Lalior 
Union  had  been  organized  in  1878,  and 
was  (;onfined  principally  to  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana, while  the  Knights  of  Industry,  with 
which  it  joined  hands,  was  confined  to 
Missouri  and  Illinois.  The  Terre  Haute 
convention  had  for  its  object  the  establish- 
ment ef  a  new  secret  order  to  supplant  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  although,  on  the  face  of 
the  call,  its  object  was  stated  to  be  to  es- 
tablish a  national  labor  congress.  There 
was  a  large  representation  of  delegates 
present  from  St.  Louis,  Cleveland,  Chicago, 
and  other  Western  cities,  but  the  only 
Eastern  city  represented  was  Pittsburgh. 
The  trades'  union  delegates  represented  the 
largest  constiti  ncy,  but  were  less  in  num- 
ber themselves  than  the  delegates  of  the 
other  societies.  But,  by  the  exercise  of 
tact  and  diplomacy,  the  trades'  nnion  men, 
who  were  at  that  time  also  members  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  snccessfblly  opposed  the 
project  of  adding  another  new  organization 
to  the  list  of  societies  already  in  existence, 
and,  for  the  time  being,  the  friends  of  the 
proposed  secret  organization  were  defeated. 

A  call  was  published,  however,  for  a  sub- 
sequent convention, to  be  held  in  Pittsbnrgh 
on  November  19,  1881,  and  this  gathering 
proved  to  be  the  most  important  of  its  kind 
that  had  thns  far  been  held.  The  call  for 
that  convention  was  remarkable.  It  read 
in  part : 

"We  have  numberless  trades'  unions, 
trades'  assemblies  or  councils,  Knights  of 
Labor,  and  various  other  local,  national, 
and  international  labor  unions,  all  engaged 
in  the  noble  task  of  elevating  and  improv- 
ing the  condition  of  the  working  clasiieB. 


^f 


4 


40 


hut  great  aa  has  been  the  work  done  hj 
toese  bodies,  there  u  vuBtly  more  that  can 
li'j  done  by  a  conibiuation  of  all  these  or- 
<j  tuizations  in  a  lederatiou  of  trades'  and 
iaiwr  anions." 

In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  that  call, 
<!ii»  convention  was  organized  at  the  date 
(It'iiiKnated,  with  John  JaiTett,  at  that  time 
president  of  the  Amalgamated  Association 
of  Iron  and  Hteel  Workers,  in  the  chair. 
One  hundred  and  veven  delegates  were 
l>rt)8ent,  representing  262,000  worjiingmen, 
and  a  permanent  organization  was  effected 
Hiyled  the  "Federation  of  Organized 
Trades'  and  L:ibor  Unions  of  the  United 
•Suit«s  and  Canada,"  and  a  congressional 
<■  onmittee,  like  that  which  the  Knights  of 
Ji  iborsnb.<<e<iuently  created,  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  Richard  Powers,  of  the  8ea- 
m,m's  Union,  of  Chicago ;  William  H. 
F'i>ster,  of  the  Intemationul  Typographical 
I'aion,  of  Cincinnati;  Samuel  GomperH, 
uf  the  International  Cigar  Makeis'  Union, 
of  New  York  ;  C.  F.  Kurgman,  of  the  Tai- 
lors' International  Union,  of  San  Francisco, 
and  A.  C.  liaukin,  of  the  Knights  of  Labor 
Iron  Moulders,  of  Pittsburgh.  Knights  of 
Labor  assemblies  and  trades'  unions  were 
fqually  represented,  and  it  was  thoroughly 
understood  that  the  trades'  unionists  should 
]ireserve  their  form  of  organization  and  the 
Knights  of  Labor  should  maintain  theirs, 
und  that  the  two  should  work  hand  in  band 
for  the  thorough  amalgamation  of  the 
working  classes  under  one  of  these  two 
lieads,  and  that  they  shonld  use  every 
legitimate  meane  to  offset  any  movement 
designed  to  create  any  more  fragments  or 
divisions  in  the  labor  army. 

A  financial  system  was  established  and 
thirteen  measnres  were  adopted  of  a  politi- 
cal character.  They  favored  the  compul- 
^ory  education  of  children,  the  abolition  of 
child  labor,  the  passage  of  uniform  appren- 
tice laws,  the  enforcement  of  the  eight-hour 
rale,  the  restriction  of  contractprison  labor, 
and  the  abandonment  of  the  store-order 
system.  They  advocated,  also,  a  first  lien 
for  labor  done,  the  repeal  of  the  conspiracy 
laws  against  organized  labor,  the  establish- 
ment of  a  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  the 
continuance  of  the  protective  tariff  for 
American  industry,  the  enactment  of  a 
national  law  to  prevent  the  importation  of 
foreign  labor  under  contract,  and  nrge<i 
that  organized  labor  should  have  represen- 
tation in  all  law-making  bodies,  in  order  to 
secure  beneficial  legislation.  Supplemen- 
tary resolutions  were  also  passed,  setting 
forth  tlie  necessity  of  legislation  securing 
restrictions  to  Chinese  labor,  the  licensing 
of  stationary  engineers,  governmental  in- 
spection of  factories  and  workshops,  the 
sanitary  supervision  of  food  and  wells,  and 
an  employers'  liability  law.  Many,  if  not 
all,  of  these  ideas  are  now  taken  up  and 
presented  by  the  Knights  of  Labor. 


At  this  same  session  it  was  decided  to 
choose  a  committee  of  three  and  invite  the 
co-operation  of  a  committee  of  three  from 
the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  Trades' 
Union  Congress  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  a 
committee  of  three  from  the  Syndical 
Chambers  of  France,  these  nine  to  form  a 
labor  commission,  whose  duty  it  should  be 
to  proceed  to  Ireland,  hear  evidence  and 
acquaint  themselves  with  the  causes  of. 
dihcoutent  in  that  conntiy  ;  lhei;cc  to  pro- 
ceed to  London  and  Paris,  make  investiga- 
tions of  the  condition  of  the  working 
clnsses  there,and  publish  their  report.  But, 
from  want  of  action  on  the  part  of  the 
trades'  unions  of  England,  the  project  fell 
through. 

In  the  interim  until  the  next  convention 
the  IjCgislative  Committee  of  the  Federation 
set  to  work  and  secured  several  hearings 
before  congressional  committees  of  the 
House  and  Senate,  which  resulted  in  the 
appointment  of  a  special  Senate  Commit- 
tee, of  which  Senator  H.  W.  Blair,  of  New 
Hampshire,  was  chairman,  to  make  a  thor- 
ough investigation  of  the  labor  question. 
Repeated  hearings  were  had  belore  this 
committee  in  favor  of  an  enforcement  of 
the  eight-hour  law  and  the  erection  of  a 
national  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  and  in 
opposition  to  a  bill  introduced  by  Congress- 
man Townsend,  of  Cleveland,  to  make  the 
lake  seamen,  if  they  should  ever  strike  or 
use  their  influence  upon  others  during  a 
strike,  guilty  in  the  eyfs  of  the  law  of 
mutiny  at  sea,  and  liable  to  punishment 
accordingly.  So  strong  was  the  op]K)sition 
to  this  bill  that  it  was  shortly  alterward 
buried  in  the  committee. 

On  all  the  various  subjects  noted  above,' 
bills  were  introduced  by  the  Federation 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  prominent 
Congressmen  for  enactment.  From  the 
entire  number  the  passage  of  a  law  requir- 
ing the  formation  of  a  national  bureau  of 
labor  Btatistic8,and  of  a  law  preventing  the 
importation  of  contract  labor,  was  finally 
secured  in  1883 — more  than  any  labor  or- 
ganization had  yet  accomplished. 

The  second  convention  of  the  Federation 
was  held  in  Cleveland,  O.,  on  November 
21,  1882,  when  Samuel  Gompers  was 
elected  permanent  president,  and  William 
11.  Foster,  suberqnently  of  Philadelphia, 
permanent  secretary.  Fearing  that  some 
d  isaster  might  overtake  this  organization,  as 
had  been  the  fate  of  its  predecessors,  a 
manifesto  was  iasned  to  the  subordinate 
unions,  disconnienancing  political  action, 
on  the  ground  that  the  Federation  had 
been  organized  as  a  purely  industrial  body. 
The  manifesto  set  forth  further,  in  admi- 
rable language : 

"We  favor  this  Federation  because  it  is 
the  most  natural  and  araimilative  form 
of  bringing  the  trades'  and  labor  nnions 
together.    It  preserves  the  industrial  aa- 


J 


41 


it  was  dttcided  to 
ree  aud  invitt;  the 
ttee  of  three  from 
ittee  of  the  Trades' 
;  Britain,  and  of  a 
}iu  the  Syndical 
se  nine  to  form  a 

dnty  it  should  be 
ear  evidence  and 
th  the  causes  of. 
y  ;  (heiice  to  pro- 
I,  maVe  investiga- 

of  tlie  working 
their  report.  Bnt, 
.  the  part  of  the 
id,  the  project  fell 

B  next  convention 
>  of  the  Federation 
[  several  hearings 
mmittees  of  the 
li  resulted  in  the 
1  Senate  Commit- 
W.  Blair,  of  New 
1,  to  make  a  thor- 
B  labor  question, 
had  belore  this 
Q  enforcement  of 
the  erection  of  a 
statistics,  and  in 
need  by  Congress- 
and,  to  make  the 
lid  ever  strike  or 
1  others  during  a 
Fs  of  the  law  of 
le  to  punishment 
'as  the  opposition 
shortly  atterward 

icts  noted  above,- 
fr  the  Federation 
ds  of  prominent 
lent.  From  the 
)  of  a  law  requir- 
itional  bureau  of 
iw  preventing  the 
abor,  was  finally 
lan  any  labor  or- 
ilishfd. 

of  the  Federation 
0.,  on  November 
1  Gompers  was 
;nt,  and  William 
of  Philadelphia, 
>aring  that  some 
s  organization,  as 
3  predecessors,  a 
the  subordinate 
political  action, 
Federation  had 
industrial  body, 
further,  in  admi- 

bion  because  it  is 
E>similative  form 
nd  labor  unions 
le  industrial  au- 


tonomy and  distinctive  character  of  each 
trade  und  labor  union,  and,  without  doing 
violen<«  to  their  faith  or  traditions,  blends 
them  all  in  one  harmonious  whole — a  '  fed- 
eration of  trades'  and  labor  unions. '  Such 
a  hotly  looks  to  the  organization  of  the 
working  classes  as  workers,  and  not  as 
'soldiers'  (in  the  present  deprecatory  sense) 
or  {Mliticans.  It  makes  the  qualities  of  a 
man  as  a  worker  the  only  tes^  of  titness,  and 
sets  up  no  political  or  religious  te«t  of 
membership.  It  strives  for  the  unification 
of  all  labor,  not  by  straining  at  an  enforced 
union  of  diverse  thought  and  widely  sepa- 
rated methods,  not  by  prescribing  a  uniform 
plan  of  organization,  regardless  of  their 
experience  or  interests,  not  by  antago- 
nizing or  destroying  existing  organizations, 
bnt  by  perserving  all  that  is  integral  or 
good  in  them  and  by  widening  their  scope 
so  that  each,  without  destroying  their  in- 
dividual character,  may  act  together  in  all 
that  concerns  them.  The  open  trades 
unions,  national  and  international,  can 
aud  ought  to  work  side  by  side  with  the 
Knightsof  Labor,  and  this  would  be  thecase 
were  it  not  for  mea  either  over-zealous  or 
ambitions,  who  busy  themselves  in  attempt- 
ing the  destruction  of  existing  unions  to 
serve  their  own  whims  and  mad  icouoclasm. 
This  should  cease  and  each  should  under- 
stand its  proper  place  and  work  in  that 
sphere,  and  if  they  desire  to  come  nnder 
one  head  or  affiliate  their  afiairs,  then  let  all 
trades'  and  labor  societies,  secret  or  public, 
be  represented  in  the  Federation  of  Trades' 
and  Labor  Unions." 

As  will  be  observed  from  reading  this 
manifesto,  the  friction  between  the  Federa- 
tion and  the  Kuighta  of  Labor  had  already 
become  serious  and  irritating.  The  next 
convention,  that  of  1883,  was  held  in  New 
York,  on  August  21.  Samuel  Gompers, 
was  re-elected  president,  and  Frank  K. 
Fostor,  of  Boston,  was  chosen  secretary, 
and  arbitration  was  favored  instead  of 
strikes.  The  eight-hour  rule  was  insisted 
upon  and  laws  were  demanded  to  limit  the 
dividends  of  corporations  and  to  introduce 
governmental  telegraph  systems.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  wait  on  the  na- 
tional conventions  of  both  the  Republican 
and  Democratic  parties  the  following  year, 
and  secure  the  insertion  of  planks  in  their 
respfctive  platforms  favorable  to  the 
interests  of  the  labor  movement ;  and  the 
Legislative  Committee  was  instructed  to 
present  a  bill  to  Congress  creating  a 
national  Department  of  Industry  or  Labor. 
This  project  also,  like  many  of  those  fore- 
goini;,  now  strenuously  advocated  by  the 
Knights  of  Labor  as  an  idea  of  their  own. 
Before  the  convention  adjourned  another 
committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with 
the  Knights  of  Labor  and  other  kindred 
organizations  with  a  view  to  securing  a 
tUMiough    unification    and    consolidation. 


Correspondence  was  subsequently  opened 
with  the  Knights  of  Labor  on  the  subject, 
but,  as  is  known,  the  proposition  waa 
repulsed. 

The  next  convention  was  held  in  Chicago 
on  October  7,  1884.  Hteps  were  taken  for 
a  universal  agitation  in  l)ehalf  of  the  eight- 
hour  system,  and  the  1st  of  May,  188({,  was 
fixed  upon  as  the  date  for  the  general  in- 
auguration of  the  plan.  The  question  was 
submitted  to  each  local  organization  re- 
represented  for  action,  those  voting  in  favor 
of  it  to  be  bound  by  it  and  those  voting  in 
opposition  to  pledge  themselves  to  sustain 
the  other  pioneers  in  the  movement. 
Among  the  organizations  that  decided  to 
inaugurate  the  system  were  the  cigar 
makers,  the  furniture  workers,  the  Ger- 
man printers,  and  the  carpenters.  As  will 
be  rememliered,  the  cigar  makers  and  the 
German  printers  succeeded,  and  the  fur- 
niture workers  compromised  on  nine  hours, 
while  the  carpenters  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing eight  hours  in  seven  cities  and  com- 
promised on  nine  hours  in  eighty-four 
cities.  The  agitation  at  that  time  for  the 
introduction  of  the  eight-hour  work-day 
was  very  popular  among  the  trades  of 
New  York,  Boston,  Cincinnati,  Chicago, 
at.  Louis,  Washington,  and  Baltimore. 

The  Anarchists,  members  of  the  Interna- 
tional Workingmcn's  party,  who  had 
hitherto  violently  opposed  the  eight-hour 
movement  aud  condemned  it  on  every 
occasion,  now  seized  upon  it  as  an  in- 
strument, it  is  believed,  to  further  their 
propaganda,  and  the  mildest  of  their 
agitators  became  prominent  in  their  attend- 
ance ateight-hour  meetings.  The  throwing 
of  the  bombs  at  the  Haymarket  meeting  in 
Chicago  on  May  6,  1886,  however,  bad  a 
very  depressing  efiect  on  the  eight-hour 
movement,  as  President  Samuel  Gompers 
declared  to  Governor  Oglesby,  inasmuch 
as  the  trade-union  element  in  general  did 
not  wish  to  be  associated  or  connected  in 
the  popular  mind  with  the  Anarchists  or 
their  methods,  and,  consequently,  the 
measure  has  not  been  pressed  since. 

At  the  convention  of  188.5,  held  in  Wash- 
ington on  December  8,  attention  was  prin- 
cipally directed  to  strengthening  the  na- 
tional organization,  and  preparing  for  the 
eight-hour  work-day.  The  secretary  re- 
ported that  he  had  communicated  with  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  inviting  its  co  operation 
with  the  Federation  in  the  enforcement  of 
tiie  system,  bnt  that  the  General  Assembly 
at  Hamilton,  Ont. ,  had  adjourned  without 
taking  any  action  or  expressing  any  sym- 
pathy for  the  movement. 

The  convention  of  1886  was  originally 
called  to  meet  in  St.  Louis  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year,  but  the  stirring  events 
iucidet't  to  the  eight- honr  strikes,  and  the 
difiiculties  existing  wivh  the  Knights  of 
Labor,  .led  to  the  memorable  conference  of 


1 


r 


u|,_U4i^LWI 


42 


the  ofticera  of  the  trades'  anions  at  Donald- 
son'h  }{all,  in  this  city,  on  May  18,  where 
defeDttive  measures  were  outlined  to  pro- 
tect the  trades'  anions  and  to  secure  har- 
mony with  the  Knights  of  Labor.  A  com- 
mittee attended  the  special  session  of  the 
Knights'  General  Assembly,  at  Cleveland, 
on  May  2U,  and  after  several  days'  wait- 
ing, marked  by  long  and  animated  discns- 
sions  in  the  General  Assembly  on  trade- 
nnion  iasaes,  no  definite  assurances  were 
obtained,  and  no  action  was  taken.  The 
trades'  union  committee  a  second  time  met 
the  Knights  of  Labor  Executive  Bmird,  at 
the  Bingham  House,  in  this  city,  on  Sep- 
tember 20,  and  secured  promises  that  defi- 
nite action  would  be  taken  at  the  Richmond 
General  Assembly,  which  would  lead  to 
harmony  between  the  two  organizatious. 

The  trades  unions  objected  to  the  admis- 
sion to  the  Knights  ot  Labor  of  members 
who  had  been  suspended,  expelled,  or  re- 
jected for  cause  by  their  own  organization ; 
they  opposed  the  formation  of  Knights  of 
Labor  assemblies  in  trades  already  thor- 
oughyl  organized  in  trades!  unions,  and 
complained  of  the  use  of  Knights  of  Labor 
trade-marks  or  labels,  in  competition  with 
their  own  labels,  notably  so  in  the  case  of 
the  Cigar-Makers'  International  Union.  At 
theKichniond General  Assembly,  the  trades' 
anion  chiefs  presented  a  mass  of  griev- 
ances, showing  where  their  local  unions 
had  been  tampered  with  by  Knights  of  La- 
bor organizers,  where  movements  had  been 
made  to  disrupt  them,  and  where,  in  cases 
where  such  disruption  could  not  be  effected, 
antagonistic  organizations  were  formed  by 
the  Knights.  The  General  Assembly,  how- 
ever, instead  ot  removing  these  alleged 
evils  or  giving  satisfactory  redress  to  the 
trades'  onion  element,  administered  to  the 
Federation  a  slap  in  the  face,  as  the  latter 
understood  it,  by  passing  a  resolution  com- 
pelling the  membera  of  Cigar  Makers'  In- 
ternational Union  connected  with  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  to  withdraw  from  the 
order. 

The  call  for  the  St.  Louis  Convention  of 
the  Federation  was  then  abrogated,  and  a 
circular  was  issued  designating  Columbus, 
Ohio,  as  the  place  of  meeting  on  December 
8.  At  the  same  time  all  organizations  not 
already  afiSliated  with  the  Federation,  were 
urged  to  attend  a  trades'  union  convention 
to  be  held  in  the  same  place  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  After  four  days'  joint  pessions  of 
the  bodies,  the  old  Federation  of  trades'  and 
labor  anions  was  dissolved,  and  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor — the  result  of 
long  thought,  mature  brains,  and  arduous 
toil — was  bom  to  the  world. 

Twenty-five  national  organizations  were 
blended  in  it,  with  an  aggregate  member- 
ship of  316,469  workingmen.  A  plan  of 
permanent  organization  was  adopted,  very 
aimple  in  its  details,  and  an  executive 


council  of  five  members  and  chief  oflScem 
were  elected,  liesolutions  were  pasxeil  fa- 
voring the  early  adoption  of  the  eight-hour 
rule,  demanding  of  Congress  the  passage  of 
a  compulsory  indenture  law,  and  condemn- 
ing the  Pinkertons'  Preventive  Patrol,  and 
the  Coal  and  Iron  Police.  After  much  de- 
liberation, a  constitution  was  agreed  upon, 
in  which  the  main  objects  of  the  great  or'' 
ganization  were  stated  to  be  "the  eix^ur- 
agement  of  formation  of  local  unions,  and 
the  closer  federation  of  such  societies, 
through  central  trade  and  labor  anions  in 
every  city,  with  the  farther  combination  of 
these  bodies  into  State,  territorial,  and 
provincial  organizations,  to  secure  legisla- 
tion in  the  interests  of  the  working  mosses  ^ 
the  establishment  of  national  and  inter- 
national trades'  unions,  based  upon  a  strict 
recognition  of  the  autonomy  of  each  trade, 
and  the  promotion  and  advancement  of 
such  bodies ;  and  the  aiding  and  encour- 
agement of  the  labor  press  of  America." 

The  revenue  of  the  Federation  is  de- 
rived from  a  per  capita  tax  o(  one-qnarter 
of  a  cent  per  month  for  each  member  in 
good  standing. 

It  will  l)e  seen  that  the  Federation  is  es- 
sentially democratic  in  principle,  and  that, 
unlike  its  rival,  the  Knights  of  Labor,  its 
aifaira  are  conducted  in  the  most  frugal 
and  economical  manner  possible.  The 
second  sewion  was  held  in  Baltimore,  De- 
cember 13,  1887. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  nu- 
merically the  strongest  labor  organization 
in  the  world,  even  surpassing  the  Knights 
of  Labor,  possessing,  as  it  does,  an  aggre- 
gate membership  of  618,000,  while  that  of 
the  Knights  is  set  down  officially  at  535,000; 

Within  the  period  during  which  the 
Knights  have  been  retrograding,  as  far  aa 
numbera  are  concerned,  the  American  P'ed- 
eration,  since  its  formation  at  Columbns, 
Ohio,  on  December  8,  1886,  has  been  noise- 
lessly and  rapidly  gaining  strength  and 
importance. 

Since  its  first  inception,  following  the 
traditions  of  the  open  trades'  unions,  it  has 
not  affected  secrecy,  and  at  the  same  time 
it  has  not  courted  notoriety.  Its  component 
parts,  previously  organized  in  ditferent 
form,  have  given  to  the  world  nearly  all  the 
ideas  that  have  since  been  found  usetnl  or 
valuable  in  other  labor  organizations,  and  ' 
the  brilliant  success  which  has  attended  this 
the  first  years  of  its  existence,  bears  portent 
of  great  achievement  in  the  future.  Its 
roster  of  national  and  international  tnides' 
anions  contains  snch  influential  and  diverse 
organizations  as  these  :  ^kers'  National 
Union,  International  Boiler  Makers'  Union, 
Cabinet  Makers'  National  Union,  Beer 
Brewers'  National  Unirn,  International 
Boatmen's  Union,  National  Union  of 
Coopers,  German  American  Typographia, 
BroUierhood  of  Carpenters  and   Joinery 


nd  chief  officem 

were  patu*«>rl  i'a- 
»f  the  eight-hour 
u  the  pawaite  of 
w,  and  condf  uin- 
tive  Patrol,  aud 

After  mnch  de- 
Ktm  agreed  upon, 

of  the  great  or'' 
be  "theei.i«ur- 
ocal  nniooR,  and 

anch   Bocietiei), 

A  labor  unions  in 

r  combination  of 

territorial,   and 

»  secure  Irgihla- 

working  maanes; 

ional  and  inter- 

wed  upon  a  strict 

ny  of  each  trade, 

advancement  of 

iling  and  encoor- 

Bof  America." 

'ederation  la  de- 

kx  of*  one-quarter 

each  member  in 

Federation  is  es- 
inciple,  and  that, 
{hta  of  Labor,  ito 

the  most  frugal 

possible.      The 

in  Baltimore,  Oe- 

on  of  Labor  is  nn- 
abor  organization 
Ming  the  Knights 
it  doef),  an  aggre- 
000,  while  that  of 
QBcially  at  535,(100; 
luring  which  the 
igradiDg,  aa  far  aa 
he  American  Fed- 
ion  at  Columbus, 
i6,  has  been  noise- 
ing  strength  and 

on,  following  the 
ides'  unions,  it  has 
at  the  same  time 
jr.  Its  component 
ized  in  different 
)rld  nearly  all  the 
1  found  uselnl  or 
Tganizations,  and  ' 
t  has  attended  this 
nee,  bears  portt-nt 
the  future.  Its 
emational  trtides' 
ential  and  diverse 
Bakers'  National 
er  Makers'  Union, 
lal  Union,  Beer 
n,  International 
ional  Union  of 
»n  Typographia, 
»8  and  Joineta^ 


43 


Ctgir  Makers'  International  Union,  Na- 
tional Federation  ot'  Minerx  and  Mine  La- 
borers, Miaera  and  Mine  Laborers'  Amal- 
gamated Association,  Coal  Miners'  Protect- 
ive AssnciatioQ,  Hor«e-Collar  Makers  Na- 
tional Union,  Tailors'  National  Progressive 
Union,  Furniture  Workers'  National  Union, 
American  Flint-glass  Workers'  Union, 
Granite  Stone-cutters'  National  Union,  Iron 
Molders'    National   Union,  Amalgamated 


Association  of  Iron  and  Rteel  Workers, 
Journeymen  Barbers'  National  Union, 
Metal  Workers'  National  Union,  Brother- 
hood ot  Painters  and  Decorators,  Hhoe- 
lusters'  National  Union,  Custom  Tailors' 
National  Union,  Textile  Workers'  Progres- 
sive Union  of  North  America,  Intematiuoal 
Typographical  Union,  Umbrella,  Pipe  and 
Cane  Workers'  Uuiun  of  America,  and  the 
Wood  Carvers'  National  Union. 


THE   NATIONAL  AND  INTERNATIONAL  TRADE  UNIONS  OF  AMERICA. 

A  Baiar  Sketch  of  theib  Gbowtb,  Bbxxfits,  ano  AoHiBvaMBHra. 

Bv  P.  J.  McGuiRK. 


To  write  a  fall  and  complete  biatory  of 
aaota  National  and  laternatrioaal  Union, 
would  fill  la^ay  valnmes.  To  narrate  in 
detnil  the  varied  straggles,  the  sabliois 
and  heroic  sscrifioea,  tba  tbrilling  episode), 
the  m>ny  strikes,  is  a  task  that  can  not  be 
andertuken  in  the  ooafines  of  a  amill 
pamphlet.  AU  that  wd  will  attempt  is  to 
give  a  brief,  conoiae  sketch,  a  msre  outline 
of  the  history  of  eaoh  National  aod  later- 
national  Union.  The  data  is  arraagal 
and  presented  in  thesaooeisiveohroaologl- 
oal  order  of  the  formttiaa  of  aaoh  sooiety, 
aai  has  bsan  farnished  officially  by  the 
offliars  of  the  organisations  mantioaed,  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  fas  the  fa^or.  Taese 
reports  extend,  in  most  oases,  ap  ta  July 
1,  18S8 

THB  I»TBBNATIOHAIj  Ttpogbaphioal 
Union  was  instituted  December  5,  1330, 
with  14  locals  and  6000  taiembers,  now 
nnmbers  over  275  looal  anioos  and  24,000 
beneficial  members,  its  roll  even  extending 
beyond  a  mimhecahip  of  33,000.  In  one  of 
strikes,  from  $7  to  $10  per  week  is  paid,  at 
the  option  of  the  local  anient.  Cub  local 
fixes  its  own  sick  and  funeral  benefits.  Ttie 
wjrk  is  obiefiy  pieoe-work.  The  wages 
range  from  30  canta  to  60  cents  per  tboa- 
saad  ems,  and  nine  totenhoarsa  dayia  the 
prevail!  ag  practice.  On  government  work 
in  the  Ojveramsat  Printing  Offise.  at 
Washiaglun,  D.  C. ,  the  aaton  rale  is  eight 
hoars  a  day.  Wa^es  have  been  advanced 
folly  40  per  cent,  through  the  International 
Union. 

THB  iNTBKVATIONAt.  TbADK  ASSOCIA- 
TION OF  Hat  Finishers  of  America 
was  orgaiii/.ei  in  Philadelphia  June  5, 
1834,  with  13  local  naions.  and  now  nnm- 
bers 15  locals,  with  4000  members,  and 


has  almost  complete  control  of  erery  hat- 
ting centre.  The  initiatioo  fee  is  |15,  and 
the  monthly  dues  are  15  oents.  Piece- 
work is  universal,  and  nine  boars  a  day  is 
the  limit.  The  work  is  done  in  seasons, 
known  as  the  "spring  trade"  and  "fall 
trade."  Wages  average  aboat  |12  per 
week  for  the  year  roand ;  a  few  make  a 
higher  sam.  Funeral  benefits  of  from  flUO 
to  $130  have  been  the  law,  bat  hereafter 
the  sam  of  $300  faneral  benefit  will  be 
paid  on  the  death  of  a  member.  The  silk 
and  felt  hatters  were  in  one  organization 
nntil  1868,  when,  in  a  convention  at  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  diffarences  arose  which  led  to 
the  separation  of  the  two  bodies.  For- 
merly the  practice  was  to  strike  on  the 
least  provocation ;  now  the  union  commit- 
tee site  in  conference  with  the  Manutac- 
tnrers'  Association,  and  both  work  in 
harmony  together. 

Thb  Natiowat,  Silk  and  Fns  Hat 
FiNiSHBBS  Association  dates  bnck  to  the 
first  local  opKanization  of  the  craft  formed 
in  Philadelphia  in  1836.  the  National  body 
being  formed  in  Jnly,  1854.  and  now  em- 
braces seventeen  cities.  No  strikes  have 
taken  plaoe  aince  the  strike  of  1859  in  New 
York,  wliiah  lasted  six  weeks,  cnstins  the 
society  $6000,  and  resulted  favorably. 
Pieoe-work  is  the  rule,  and  the  hours  of 
labor  are  not  fixed.  One  hundred  dollars 
is  paid  on  death  of  a  member,  and  $50  on 
decease  of  a  member's  wife.  Relief  for 
sick  members  is  on  the  voluntary  basis. 

Cotton  Mulb  Spinners'  Association, 
located  in  Fall  River,  Mass.,  was  insti- 
tuted October,  1858.  The  monthly  dues 
are  60  cents,  and  since  the  society  has 
started,  the  hours  of  labor  have  been  re- 
duced from  eleven  and  twelve  honrs  dowa 


I   i 


'   ! 


44 


to  ten,  and  the  wagea  increased  from  |8  per 
week  to  |10  per  week.  The  sick  benefltHare 
|4  per  week,  and  $50  in  case  of  funeral ;  |4 
per  week  ia  paid  to  members  victimi«ed  or 
oii  strike  ;  $80,000  strike  benetits  have 
been  paid  oat  since  formation  of  the  so- 
cieiy ,  iMid  $40,000  in  funeral  and  sick  bene- 
tiu.  The  society  now  has  |7000  of  »  re- 
eerve  fund. 

ThrIbon  Moldbbs' Union  of  Ahkrica 
was  organised  bj  a  few  uniona  on  July  5, 
18r>9,  and  now  covers  over  250  local  unions 
and  28,000  members,  of  whom  folly  20,000 
are  in  benefits.  The  reserve  fund  at  head- 
quarters is  never  allowed  to  fall  below 
$30  000,  and  the  local  treasuries  have  hun- 
dreds of  thonsands  at  their  command.  The 
dues  to  the  general  office  are  25  cents  per 
month.  The  burial  and  strike  benefits 
are  paid  from  this  fund.  This  society  pays 
$100  funeral  benefit.  'When  the  society 
first  organized,  $12  per  week  was  consid- 
ered gcmd  wages  ;  at  present  the  invariable 
rule  ia  $2.75  per  day.  They  also  formerly 
worked  twelve  to  thirteen  honra  per  day  ; 
now  the  custom  is  ten  hours,  and  in  April, 
18H0,  a  general  movement  for  the  nino- 
hour  Work-day  is  projected.  Pieoe-woik  is 
general,  and  to  restrict  the  greedy  piece- 
workers, they  are  limited  to  do  an  amount 
of  work  not  to  exceed  $3  60  per  day.  The 
great  strike  of  March,  1887,  against  the 
combined  Manufacturers'  Defense  Associa 
tion,  resulted  in  a  sweeping  victory  lor  the 
union. 

Thk   Bbothekhood    of  Locomotive 
Enqinekbs    was    instituted    Auftust  17, 

1863,  and  at  this  writing,  has  392  subdi- 
visions  and  over  85,000  members.  Since 
1868  this  union  has  paid  out  to  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  its  members  $2,438,000. 
The  ineuranre  feature  is  $3000  in  case  of 
death,  and  $1500  in  case  of  permanent  dis- 
ability by  accident.  Wages  have  been  ad- 
vanced fully  60  per  cent.,  and  the  hoars 
of  labor  have  been  curtailed  considetably. 

The  Ctgab-Makebs   International 
ITnton  of  America  was  founded  June  21, 

1864.  with  21  unions  and  084  members. 
At  present  it  numbers  260  local  unions 
and  over  28.000  members,  of  whom  21,000 
are  in  henetftR  The  initiation  fee  ranges 
from  $3  to  $10,  according  to  locality,  and 
the  dues  are  20  cents  per  week,  and  an  an- 
nual anseMiment  of  one  dollar.  At  first  the 
bonrs  of  labor  were  ten  hours  and  longer, 
now  the  mie  is  eight  hours  a  day,  while 
sin'-p  September,  1879,  wages  have  ad- 
vancvd  from  twentr  to  one  hundred  per 
cmt. ;  the  syptem  of  piece-work  prevails.  A 
sick  benefit  of  $5  per  week  is  paid,  and  the 
union  has  a  funeral  benefit  raneing  from 
$50  to  $.500.  A  system  of  loans  to  travel- 
ine  members  is  one  of  the  institutions, 
Trhile  $4  per  week  is  paid  in  case  of  a  strike 


or  lockout.  In  the  past  ten  years  the  sum  of 
$883,181.82  has  been  paid  out  in  variooa 
benefits,  while  the  society  now  has  in  its 
funds  the  sum  of  over  a  qnarter  of  a  mil- 
lion dollars.  This  union  has  hmken  down 
the  trock  system  of  paying  wi  gM  in  cifpurs, 
and  has  battled  against  the  teiit^ment-lMUse 
cigar  fJDKtories,  with  considerable  snccess. 

The  Bricklayers'  and  MA8o^B'  In- 
ternational Union  of  Amkbica  was 
CHtablished  Febiuary  1,  ienr>,  with  3 
unions,  and  now  it  embraces  over  160 
local  unions.  The  initiatioo  fee  is  from 
$10  to  $25,  and  the  dues  fiom  26  to  60 
cents  per  month.  The  hours  of  labor  have 
been  reduced  irom  ten  down  to  nine  hours 
per  day.  Wages  are  paid  by  the  day,  and 
vary  according  to  location,  fh)m  $2.60  to 
$5  per  day.  In  strikes,  $200,000  have 
been  spent,  and  $360,000  more  have  been 
expended  in  other  benefits.  Strike  bene- 
fits are  at  the  rate  of  $7  per  week  for  mar- 
ried men,  and  $5  per  week  for  single  men. 
Many  of  the  local  unions  have  sick  and 
funeral  benefits. 

TbK  OBPEB  of  BaILWAT  CONDlTCTOBa 
was  organized  in  1868,  at  Mendota,  III., 
snd  now  has  8,000  members.  It  has  insur- 
ance features  and  various  benefits. 

The  United  States  Wool  Hat  Fih- 
isiiERs'  AssociAiiuN  Was  foim(d  April  7, 
1 869,  and  now « ubraces  12  locals.  All  ap- 
prentices, on  becoming  journeymen,  are 
memben  of  the  union.  The  system  of 
work  is  pifce-work,  and  averages  nine 
months'  work  in  the  year,  at  from  $3  to  $6 
per  day,  accordirg  to  a  workman's  ezpert- 
ness.  Orer  $4000  nave  been  spent  in  strike 
benefits.  The  history  of  some  local  onions 
in  this  body  dates  back  to  1746. 

The  Gebman-Amkbican  Ttfogbaphia 
was  organized  in  1873,  with  7  locals  and 
400  members,  now  it  has  9   locals  and 
1,400  beneficial  members.    The  initiation 
fee  is  $3,  and  the  dnes  26  cents  per  week, 
rnd  more  in  some  cases.    Since  May  1, 
1S86,   the  eight-hour  system  is  the  uni- 
versal rule  in  all  union  offices  among  Ger- 
man   printers,  where  the  men  formerly 
worked   ten   hours   and    more  per  day. 
Wages  range  from  $12  to  $S0  per  week,  as 
the  work  is  principally  piece-work.  In  the 
past  five  years  wages  have  advanced  15  to 
25  per  cent.     This  society  pays  $6  per 
week  sick  benefit,  $6  per  week  out  of  work  ' 
benefit,  $7  per  week  strike  benefit,  $200 
death  benefit,  and  $25  wife  ftineral  benefit, 
also  traveling  loans  to  the  extent  of  $20. 
This  society  has  a  reserve  of  over  $12,000. 

The  International  Union  of  Fueni- 
tueb  Workers  of  America  was  ineti- 
tnted  July  7,  1873,  with  9  local  nnions 
and  1.156  members.  At  present  it  num- 
bers 26  locals  And  over  6,000  membeiB 


I  years  th«  aam  of 
i  ont  in  variona 
'  oow  has  in  its 
anarter  of  a  mil- 
has  broken  dorwo 
;  W)  gM  in  cigars, 
i  teiituient-lkoase 
Iderable  sncccss. 

!»D  Mabons'  Iw- 

>F  Amukica  was 

Ibnc,    with   3 

ibraceH  over  160 

iUoD  fee  is  from 

iiom  26  to  60 

inrs  of  labor  have 

mo  to  nine  hours 

by  the  day,  and 

in,  from  $2.60  to 

s,  1200,000  havo 

)  more  have  been 

Bte.    Strike  bene* 

per  week  for  mar- 

ik  for  eingle  men. 

18  have  sick  and 

VAY  CONDrCTOBS 
at  Mendota,  III., 
ers.  It  has  insnr- 
I  benefits. 

Wool  Hat  Fin- 
is foimfd  April  7, 
12  locals.    All  ap- 

jonmeymen,  are 
The  system  of 
id  averages  nine 
r,  at  from  $3  to  |6 
ToiIimBn's  ezpert- 
een  spent  in  strike 
some  local  anions 
0 1745. 

inTtpogbaphia 
\vith  7  loivls  and 
las  9  locals  and 
I.    The  initiation 
>  cents  per  week, 
1.    Since  May  1, 
fUm  is  the  nni- 
flSces  among  Crer- 
le  men  formerly 
more  per  day. 
$20  per  week,  as 
ece-work.  In  the 
)  advanced  15  to 
Bty  pays  |6  per 
reek  ont  of  work  ' 
ke  benefit,  $200 
)  funeral  benefit, 
t  extent  of  $20. 
f  over  $12,000. 

smut  OF  PUEWI- 
iiCA  was  inati- 
9  local  anions 
irerant  it  nnm- 
5,000  membeiB 


45 


in  good  standing.  The  initiation  fee  im  $1, 
and  4U  cents  per  month  dues,  with  luiai- 
tional  fees  and  dues  for  the  beuetlcial 
features.  The  union  has  a  reserve  of 
$1H,0U0.  Thebenetitaare:  $10<)wife'8t'uiier»l 
benefit,  $260  meu'ber's  funeral  benelii,  i'in 
to  $160  tool  insuranee  (fully  $76,000  worth 
of  tools  are  insured),  sick  beuetita  $0  per 
week,  aud  f  5  per  week  in  case  of  strikes. 
In  strikes  fully  $55,000  have  lieen  speut, 
of  which  $30,000  Wtt8  esiieiidcd  in  the 
eight-hour  strike  in  May,  IbHO.  About 
one-half  the  members  are  now  wocking  by 
the  day,  eight  hours  per  day,  in  most  cuj>«8, 
the  balance  nine  hours  a  day.  When  the 
organization  started  the  rule  was  piece- 
work, ten  hours  per  day.  Wages  are  now 
hi(^er  than  they  were  three  yeurs  ago,  and 
range  firom  $1.75  to  $3.50  per  day. 

Thr    Bbotberhooi)  of    Locomotivk 
FiKKMEN    was    eatablished    December  1, 

1873,  with  1  local  and  0  members ;  now 
has  38U  divJKions  and  19,000  beneficial 
members.  The  initiation  fte  is  $5  and 
upwards,  and  the  dues  25  cents  per  month 
and  upwards.  Since  the  orncanissntion  was 
formed,  the  sum  of  $190,000  has  been  paid 
out  in  strikes,  and  $1,500,000  has  been  ex- 
pended in  funeral  benefits.  The  heuvflts 
are  $1,500  insurance  in  case  of  death,  and 
$1,500  in  case  of  disability. 

Journeymen  Hobkef^iioebs'  National 
Union  organizt^d  in  Philadelphia  April  20, 

1874,  and  now  has  32  local  nnions  and  8,000 
members.  The  initiation  fee  is  $5,  and 
the  monthly  dues  50  cents.  At  first  the 
hours  of  labor  were  ten  per  day,  now  they 
range  from  eight  to  ten,  in  many  castas  nine 
hours  is  the  average.  Wages  were  $2  to 
$2.50,  at  present  they  are  advanced  to  $3 
and  $3.50. 

The  National  Amalgamatbd  Asso- 
ciation OF  IBON  AND  STEEL  WORKERS 
was  founded  August  4,  1876,  with  111 
lodges  and  3,755  members.  It  was  the 
outgrowth  of  a  consolidation  of  Tarious 
societies  of  all  branches  of  the  trade.  The 
Amalgamated  now  numbers  177  lodges 
and  over  35,000  members,  of  whom  15,000 
•re  finely  skilled  workmen.  The  initiation 
fee  is  $1  to  $3,  the  monthly  dues  are  60 
cents.  Wages  have  advanced  over  10  per 
cent,  since  the  association  has  been  founded. 
In  all,  the  sum  of  $228,893  has  been  spent 
in  strikes.  The  strike  idlowance  is  $4  per 
week.  The  first  origin  of  the  association 
dates  back  to  a  local  lodge  in  Pittsburgh 
in  1858,  known  as  the  "United  Sons  of 
Yulcan."  The  formation  ot  the  Amalga- 
mated has  brought  aboat  a  uniform  scale  of 
wages,  and  the  present  system  of  annual 
acale  conferences  between  the  employers 
and  the  men  through  duly  constituted 
representatives. 

Thb  Obanitb  Cdttkbs'  National 
Ubion  waa  established  March  10,  1877. 


Wages  then  were  $1.76  to  $3  per  day  for 
ten  Uours'  work.    Now  they  are  $3  to  $3.60 

Eer  day  for  nine  hours'  work,  and  eight 
ours  Saturdays.  The  society  has  80 
branches  and  5,000  membeis.  Its  initiation 
fee  is  trom  $1  to  $3,  the  monthly  dues 
being  30  cents.  Ihe  society  allows  its 
members  $10  of  a  traveling  loan,  and  $125 
funeral  benefit. 

The  Amkbicak  Flint  0I.A6K  Work  KB»' 
Union  came  into  life  Juiy  1,  1878,  with  11 
local  iKidies,  and  at  presi-nt  it  embracev  83 
local  unions  and  over  0.0<iO  members,  with 
barely  75  men  in  the  trade  outside  of  the 
union. Lwal  organization  of  glass  workeis 
extends  )>ack  to  1848.  The  first  general  or 
natioral  union  oi  glass  workers  was  formed 
in  186(> ;  it  aflerwaids,  in  l>'ii5,  became  the 
"  GlacB- Blowers'  League,"  which,  later  on, 
in  the  Bottle  Blowers'  branch,  was  divided 
for  convenience  into  two  organizations, 
one  the  Eastern  Divii-ion  and  the  other  the 
Western  Division.  Ihe  flint  glass  work- 
ers and  window- glass  workers  in  the 
course  of  time  withdrew  from  the  league 
and  formed  separate  organizations,  to  more 
elTectnally  regulate  their  cratt  aifairs.  In 
the  glass  trade  the  general  rule  in  most 
cases  is  eight  hours  a  day's  work,  and  by 
organized  efibrt  wages  have  been  advanced 
100  per  cent. 

The  New  England  Boot  and  Bbob 
LAbTER8'  Pboieciive  Union  wiis  origi- 
nated December  27,  1879,  with  16  mem- 
bers ;  at  present  it  has  66  branches  and 
nearly  10,000  members,  of  whom  7,523 
members  are  in  benefit.  The  initiation  fee 
is  $1  ;  the  monthly  dues  are  26  cents.  The 
old  custom  was  twelve  to  thirteen  hours' 
work  per  day.  Now  the  men  work  ten 
hours,  and  where  they  formerly  made  f  9  to 
$10  per  week,  at  present  they  get  $16  per 
week.  The  sum  of  $105,000  has  been 
spent  in  strikes.  The  pay,  in  time  of  » 
strike.  Is  $4  per  week,  the  local  anions,  in 
some  cases,  paying  sick  benefits.  This  or- 
ganization has  been  in  upwards  of  1,900 
trade  troubles,  and,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
has  always  come  out  victorious.  It  is  now 
extending  its  ramifications  to  other  sections 
as  well  as  New  England. 

IntbbnationalBbothbbhood  of 
Boiler  MAKERS  and  Iron  Ship-Build- 
bbs  and  Helpebs  waa  formed  at  Chicago 
June,  1880,  and  now  has  33  branches  and 
3,500  members.  Initiation  fee  from  $1  to 
$5  ;  monthly  dues  25  to  50  cents  per  month. 
The  hours  of  labor  are  nine  hours  per  day 
on  ships  or  boats,  and  ten  hoars  in  the 
shops.  Wages,  previous  to  the  organiza- 
tion, were  $2  to  $2  20  per  day  ;  at  present 
they  are  from  $2.76  to  $3.26.  The  union 
has  sick  and  faneral  benefits,  and  though 
not  invoking  strikes,  has  won  six  oat  of 
seven  strikes  in  the  ^t  few  yeua. 


I 


Miii 


f 


T 


4(i 


Thr   Brothkbhood   or   Cabpkntkrh 

AMU  JuiNIUd   UK   AMKRICA    WttM    tuUllUed 

ia  ojaveatioa  at  Cbiuttgu,  Aaguitt  1'^,  1H81. 
At  dCiit  it  had  only  Vi  local  unionit  aud 
*2,04'i  luembera.  Now  it  hati  481  local  uaiouii 
ia  over  445  cities,  aud  53,UUU  enrolled  mem- 
herd.  It  pays  a  wile's  funeral  beuelit  from 
125  to  4'>U  ;  member's  funeral  benetlt,  i|l(M> 
to  $JOi);  disability  beuettt,  $IU()  to  %\m. 
In  tUe-te  general  beneKta  the  sum  of  i)r>:{,- 
«7j  hat  been  expended,  while  *2()0,000 
more  were  spent  .or  siuk  benetits  by  the 
local  unions.  It  has  raited  wages  in  !j(]8 
cities,  and  placed  four  iitillions  and  a  half 
doltard  more  wages  annually  in  the  poukets 
of  the  carpenters  in  those  cities.  It  re- 
duced the  hoars  of  labor  to  eight  hours  a 
day  in  35  cities,  and  nine  hours  a  day  in 
107  cities,  not  to  spaalc  of  152  cities  which 
have  established  the  eight  or  nine-hour 
system  on  Saturdays.  By  this  means  4,000 
men  have  gained  employment.  This  so- 
ciety favors  day's  work,  and  opposes  piece- 
work in  the  trade,  and  has  broken  down 
the  system  in  many  instances.  Wages 
range  from  $2.25  to  (3.50  per  day. 

Thk  Mbtal- Workers'  Uwion  ok 
NoarH  A.MBRIOA,  founded  in  1882,  now 
consists  of  12  local  unions,  with  1,200  mem- 
berd'.'    It  has  sick  and  funeral  benetits. 

Thk  OpBiIAtivb  Plasterbbs'  Intbb- 
NATioNAL  Union  was  founded  with  5 
locals,  in  1882  ;  at  present  has  20  local 
anions  and  2,300  members,  of  whom  1,700 
are  iu  niood  standing.  Initiation  fee  varies 
from  %'i  to  $25,  and  the  dues  are  25  to  50 
cents  per  month.  The  hours  worked  are 
generally  ten  hours  per  day,  with  eight 
hoars  Saturdays.  A  few  places  are  work- 
ing eight  and  nine  hours  a  day.  Previous 
to  organization,  wages  were  (2  to  $3  per 
day  for  ten  hours  ;  now  they  are  $2  to  $5 
for  eight  or  nine  hours  per  day. 

The  National  Wood-Caevbrs'  Asso- 
ciation was  founded  in  January,  1883, 
and  now  embraces  9  local  anions  in  thrifty 
condition. 

Tbxtilb  Workers'  Proqbbssivk 
Union  of  America  was  organized  May 
17,  1883,  at  first  ander  the  name  of 
"United  Silk  Workers."  July  16,  1884, 
the  society  took  iu  present  name,  and  now 
hia  8  local  anions.  The  Carpet  Workers 
have  decided  to  join  this  body,  which  will 
double  the  numbers.  The  great  difficulty 
in  organizing  this  branch  of  labor  is  the 
couutleas  number  of  women  and  children 
working  in  the  mills.  The  Progressive 
Union,  however,  made  a  gallant  fight  for 
the  eight-hour  system  in  several  cities. 

JoUBNETMBir    TAILORS'     NATIONAL 

Union  started  Angust,  1883,  in  Philadel- 
phia, with  5  locals  ;  now  has  70.  Initia- 
tion fee  averages  |2,  and  daes  60  cents 


per  month,  with  |4  per  week  paid  in  time 
of  strike.  The  system  of  work  is  all 
piece-work,  with  no  limit  to  the  hours  of 
labor.  Wages  average  $14  per  week.  Over 
$16,000  have  been  paid  out  lu  strikes  from 
local  and  general  funds.  Nearly  all  of  the 
unions  hav«  siok  and  deatu  benefits.  A 
previous  attempt  at  a  National  Union  of 
Tailors  was  made  in  1865. 

Thr  RnoTURRBooD  of  Railroad 
Dkakkmgn  was  instituted  He;>tember  23, 
1H83,  with  8  members  ;  now  has  2(iU  lodges 
and  12,000  members.  The  initiation  fee  is 
$8,  and  the  luuiithly  dnes  average  $1.50. 
The  sum  of  $1,000  is  paid  in  case  of  death 
or  accident ;  in  this  way  |50(),0U0  has  been 
paid  out  in  the  past  five  years. 

The  JouiiNKYMKN  Bakers'  National 
Union  was  formed  in  Pittsburgh  January 
13,  1885,  with  a  few  locals  ;  now  numbers 
72  local  unions  and  1U,IH)()  members. 
Through  its  eflforts,  the  hours  of  labor  have 
been  reduced  from  sixteen  down  to  ten 
hours  per  day,  and  wages  raised  from  $8  to 
910  per  week  ;  and  many  evils,  such  as 
swindling  employment  agencies,  have  been 
abated.  The  locM  anions  have  sick  and 
funeral  benefits  in  many  cases. 

The  Waiters'  Union,  organized  in 
New  York  City  January  25,  1885,  with  22 
members,  now  has  over  1,200  members. 
When  they  started  there  was  no  limit  to 
the  hours  of  labor  and  no  scale  of  wages  ; 
men  then  worked  fourteen  to  eighteen 
honrs  per  day,  now  work  only  ten  hours. 
Then  labor  bureaus  were  kept  by  saloon- 
keepers,  who  compelled  the  waiters  who 
were  looking  for  work  to  spend  their  money 
freely.  This  has  been  broken  ap,  and  the 
labor  bareaa  is  now  run  by  the  onion. 
The  percentage  system  is  also  stopped,  and 
wages  are  $2.50  per  day,  instead  of  $1.25 
as  formerly. 

Thr  National  Federation  of  U inebs 
'and  Mine  Laborers  had  its  birth  Sep- 
tember 12,  1885,  with  abont  6,000  mem- 
bers ;  at  this  date  it  now  embraces  fully 
25,000  members.  The  wages  were  $1.76  to 
$2.25  per  day;  now  they  range  from  $2  to 
$2.50.  This  body  is  compmed  of  State 
and  Territorial  nnions,  which,  in  torn,  are 
composed  of  local  anions.  Previous  to  the 
formation  of  this  Federation,  the  coal 
miners  had  a  loose,  disconnected  string  of 
local  anions  in  perpetual  and  disorganized 
strikes.  This  has  given  way  to  an  annual 
wage  conference  with  the  mine  operators, 
which  results  in  an  amicable  settlement  of 
the  scale,  and  strikes  are  thus  avoided. 
At  an  early  date  the  nine-honr  system  is 
to  be  pat  into  effect  by  this  society. 

Thr  International  B  o  a  t  h  b  s '8 
Union  had  its  origin  in  February,  1886, 
and    now  numbers  over  1,000  memben. 


'eek  paid  in  time 
of  woik  is  all 
i  to  the  lioura  of 
per  weelc.  Over 
t  lu  Hlrilies  from 
Nearly  all  of  the 
Mtti  benedta.  A 
aliooal  Uuion  of 


or    Railroad 

d  Heiiteinber  2:{, 

>w  biM  2UU  loilgM 
6  initiation  fee  is 

BH  average  $1.50. 
in  coHe  of  death 
5oo,ouu  has  been 

ears. 

Ens'  National 
ttsburgh  January 
Ih  ;  now  numbers 
i),(H)o  members. 
>ur8  of  labor  have 
sen  down  to  tea 
raised  from  $8  to 
y  evils,  snch  as 
encies,  have  been 
IS  have  sick  and 


1,    organized    in 
J5,  1885.  with   22 

1,200  members. 

was  no  limit  to 
k  scale  of  wages  ; 
teen  to  eighteen 
:  only  ten  hours. 
i  kept  by  saloon- 
the  waiters  who 
pend  their  money 
Dken  np,  and  the 
n  by  the  nnion. 
also  stopped,  and 
,  instead  of  11.25 

ATIONOPHmEBS 

ad  its  birth  Sep- 
boot  6,000  mem- 
w  embraces  fnlly 
)gea  were  1)1.75  to 
range  from  $2  to 
mpmed  of  Stat« 
hich,  in  turn,  are 
Prerions  to  the 
ration,  the  coal 
nnected  string  of 
and  disorganized 
way  to  an  annual 
I  mine  operators, 
tble  settlement  of 
rre  thns  avoided, 
le-honr  system  ia 
lis  society. 

B  O  A  T  M  B  it's 

February,  1886, 
1,000  memben. 


.wW»ll 


«y 


ThtiMe  boatmen  are  at  work  on  the  various 
canalM  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  The 
initiation  fee  is  |5,  monthly  dues  50  centa. 
Hours  of  labor  at  first  were  twelve  per 
day ;  now  only  ten  hours.  Pri«w8  have 
been  raised  from  18  to  25  cents  per  ton  for 
hauling,  and  wagen  formerly  i^'.Vt  per  month, 
are  now  (50.  Spent  94, (MM)  in  strike  bene- 
II  tH,  and  raised  wages  over  35  per  cent. 
The  locals  have  a  funeral  benefit. 

UAlIiHOAD  Swi-miMEM's   MuTUAL  AlO 

A88OCIATI0N  OK  N.  A.  had  it«  beginning 
Muri^b  2,  1H(4«I,  at  Chicago,  with  4  locals 
and  1,000  members  ;  today  it  has  58  locals 
•nd  nearly  5,000  members.  The  initiation 
fee  is  10,  and  the  monthly  dnes  9 1 ;  $700 
•re  paid  in  case  of  death  or  disability,  and 
$6  per  week  in  case  of  accident.  $100,000 
have  been  paid  out  in  these  benefits. 

Tailors'  Froorebsivb  National 
Union  was  establinhed  August  32-20, 1880, 
at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  with  9  nnions,  and 
now  has  13  nnions  and  1,500  members. 
Initiation  fee  $1,  dnes  25  cents  monthly, 
and  |6  per  week  strike  benefit  is  paid,  the 
Moiety  also  has  a  sick  and  funeral  fund, 
which  is  optional,  and  costs  35  cents  per 
month  extra,  and  |2  for  initiation,  the 
■ick  benefit  being  $6  per  week,  and  th« 
death  benefit  175. 

The  National  Union  of  the  United 
Bbewkky  Wobkmrn  was  brought  into 
life  Angnst  29,  1886,  and  now  has  fifty-one 
local  unions  and  2,600  members.  At  first 
wages  were  $45  to  $60  per  month,  for  four- 
teen to  eighteen  hours  of  daily  labor  ;  now 
the  wages  are  $60  to  $80  per  month,  paya- 
ble weekly,  for  teu  hours  of  daily  labor. 
This  Society  has  spent  $80,000  in  strikes 
and  has  a  good  record  as  indomitable 
workers. 

Brotherhood  or  Painters  and  Deco- 
rators or  America  was  founded  March 
15-16,  1887,  with  13  nnions  and  500  mem- 
bers ;  now  has  116  local  unions  and  6,000 
members.  The  initiation  fee  is  $1,  and  up- 
wards ;  the  dues  26  canta  per  month,  and 
upwards.  The  hours  of  labor  range  from 
eight  to  ten  hours  per  day,  nine  hours 
being  quite  the  general  rnle.  The  benefits 
are :  wife  benefit  of  $25  to  $50  ;  member's 
fhneral,  $50  to  $100;  disability,  $60  to 
$100  :  strikes,  $4  to  $5  per  week. 


Horse-collar  Maekks'  Natiowal 
Union  formed  April  5,  I8s7 ;  now  has  21 
local  nnions  and  nearly  800  members. 
Hours  of  labor,  ten  per  day  ;  wages,  for- 
merly $1.60  per  day,  are  now  advanced  to 
$I.UO.  The  initiation  fee  is  $2  to  $3  ;  the 
dues  50  centM  per  month. 

Pattern-Makers'  National  Leaocb, 
ioHtituied  at  Hi.  lx>nis.  May  18,  18H7,  has 
I)  unions  and  nearly  1,000  members.  Hick 
and  funeral  benefits  optional  with  locals. 

Pavino  Cutters'  National  Union 
organimi«l  June  1,  1HH7,  at  Baltimore,  Md., 
with  11  branches  and  500  members;  has 
.'Ui  branches  and  1,800  members ;  payx  $100 
funeral  benefit,  and  $10  traveling  loan. 

Journeymen  ItAititRiis'  National 
Union  came  into  enisteore  Hept«niber6, 
1887,  and  has  8  locals  and  over  2,500  mtm- 
bers.  The  initiation  fee  ia  $2  ;  the  dues 
40  cents  per  month.  At  first  the  honn 
of  labor  were  one  hundred  per  week, 
but  are  now  reduced  to  eighty-six  hours 
per  week.  Wages  were  $9  per  week,  are 
now  $13  per  week.  Strike  benefits  and 
sick  benefits  are  each  |5  per  week. 

Tub  Building  Laborers'  National 
Union  was  started  September  30,  1887,  in 
Worcester,  Mass.,  and  now  has  30  locals 
and  8,0(N)  members.  Worked  ten  hours  per 
day  for  $1.75  prior  to  organization  ;  now 
work  nine  hours  per  day  and  eight  Satur- 
days, and  gets  $2.25  to  $2.60. 

Journeymen  Stone  Cutters'  Asso- 
ciArioN  OP  North  America  had  its  be- 
ginning March  1, 1888.  Pays  $100  funeral 
benefit,  and  has  sick  benefits  in  the  locals. 
The  men  work  nine  hours  very  generally, 
and  in  many  coses  work  only  eight  hours. 
This  society  now  numbers  over  20  locals. 

An  Oyhtermrn's  National  Unioh  is 
now  in  process  of  formation,  which  will  in- 
clude li  existing  nnions,  with  a  combined 
memberahip  of  800.  A  sick  benefit  of  $6 
per  week  and  $75  death  benefit  will  be 
embraced  in  the  constitution. 

The  Silk  Wobkebs  have  a  yery  pros- 
perous National  Union,  which  is  row 
arranging  to  become  part  of  a  t^ixuaal 
Federation  of  the  Textile  Woikers,  in- 
cluding all  operatives  in  the  cotton,  woolen, 
carpet,  and  silk  industries,  and  to  be 
organized  strictly  on  a  trade  union  basis. 


■■^K" 


Lamon  Omnia  Vincit. 


AMERICAN  FEDERATiliri  OF  LABOR 

AN  AHl^KAL 

To  all  Local,  National,  and  International  Trade  Unions  iu  America. 


It  ia  iinw  Kanarally  admitted  bjr  all  niall.vwiliKiHtrilaiiil  lionriit  man  ttiata  tlioroiiBh  orKmiiiwliun 
of  llie  ciilire  wurkinK  tilaaa,  to  rauiler  ciii(iUiyiii(iiii  itiiil  llit*  iii<-hiik  hI'  Hiilixinifiir*  nnn  iirvrHriniipi  by 
•euuriiiK  ail  vqiiltablo  nhara  ut  tha  friillM  of  tliuir  loll,  la  th«  niiint  vital  iici  rMiiy  iif  lUu  |>rrh<'iii  <!«>'. 

'l.'u  meet  tuie  uritaiil  iicveiiaily,  aiitl  tu  acblave  (bl«  DKial  Uealralna  reaiill,  eHurla  liavt*  Ijeaii  uimIv, 
loi>  nuiiirruiia  la  ii|i*oiry,  itiid  too  cllveriiant  U>ailiiilt  of  uiarn  tliaii  Iba  iiioal  icaiiaral  alacalttuBlioii, 
Rt  ;'U'e  It  ta  nay,  thai  Ibime  atteinptM  at  urKHUliatluii  wlilrb  ailiiiittleil  to  nicinbcriihl|>  the  laryeit  |ira- 
portion  af  utliara  tliaii  wane  workvia  were  tliuM)  wlilcli  wriitthe  ni(i«ta|i«>  cllly  tolbe  lliiihu  ofnioTr- 
lueuin  that  won't  move;  wblle.of  tlii<aiirvtviiJKu>|H!rimviiti<,  tlioxr  whIclialHrti'il  witliliiamoxlelabo- 
rats  amd  eibauallva  platforiiia  of  abatraot  |iriiiulplaa  waie  tbono  wbK'b  gut  tbu  kuonaat  Into  fatal 
voDiplli'atloiia,  and  toonaiil  liecama  eaiiauated, 

In  Ihu  faau  of  au  many  lUaaHtroiia  failurea  tuaiipjily  thn  undinibtedly  fiiatlnK  popular  daniand  for 

•  prautU'Ml  ineana  of  aolvliiu  tbo  icreat  priibleni,  Ibu  iiuxry  natiirallj'  9Ugf[eat«  Itaalf  to  luauy :  "WhIUk 
is  thu  beat  form  of  oriiaiiliHlixu  for  tbe  people,  tliu  worker* ','" 

We  uiibeHltalliiwly  aimwcr:  "The  orKanlaatlon  uf  Iba  working  people,  by  the  working  people, 
fortha  workliiK  ueople— that  la,  the  Trade  I'lilon." 

Tiie  Trade  rnloiiH  are  the  iialurHl  growth  of  natural  laws,  and  from  the  very  nature  of  their 
beinK  have  ittood  Ibu  fnt  of  time  and  eiperluiice.  Thu  devttloument  of  the  Trade  t'nIoiiH,  rcKorUed 
bolb  from  the  ataiidpiiiat  of  nuiucrlnil  viimiixion  anil  thai  or  pratllcnl  wurklitg,  bita  been  nmrrrl- 
ouKly  rapid.  Tli«  Trade  (  niona  have  dumoiutrated  Ibeir  ability  to  nope  with  every  amergeuvy— 
aaoni>mlo  or  |Militiual— aa  It  arlaea. 

It  la  true  that  ainK'e  irade  Unlona  have  bei-n  f>flen  beiitcn  In  piti'lied  bnttica  aKainnt  inperlor 
fororaof  united  capital,  hulauob  dereutaare  by  nu  nieaiiadlaaatroua;  ou  theoontrary,  they  are  UMCfiii 
in  calliiiK  Ibn  attention  of  the  workera  to  thu  ncueaalty  of  tUoroUkh  orKaklxatioii.of  thu  InevitHbla 
obllKHllon  of  briiiKlngtbe  yet  MiiorKanized  workera  Into  tbe  I'liion,  of  unilinK  the  hitherto  diMou- 
nectuil  IvUchI  IJniona  Into  National  Inloiia,  auil  or<'IVevtlng  a  yet  bl"hiir  unity  by  thvafllllation  of  all 
National  ami  International  l^iilona  In  one  Kraiid  J'\'deratluii,iu  whiclt  laobaud  all  trade  orgauiaalioi<a 
would  lie  "aa  dlatlnetiiatbo  billowa,  yet  one  aa  thu  aca." 

In  tke  work  of  thu  organizittlun  of  labor,  Iho  ijiok«  energetic,  wlaext,  and  devoted  of  ■*,  when 
working  Individually,  cannot  bo(>o  to  l>e  aucccsitful,  ~iul  by  comliluing  our  etl'orta  ALI.  mny.  And  the 
oombintd  at'tlon  uf  all  the  Unions  wbon  exerted  in  favor  of  any  onu  Lilian  will  certainly  be  more 
aniuacioUN  than  tbe  actlan  of  any  one  Union,  no  ivatlvr  bow  powerful  H  may  ho,  If  exerted  in  favor 
of  an  uiior^nnlxedi  or  a  partially  organized  inaaa.  '1  he  Biotberliood  of  Paiiitera  haa,  wittiin  a  little 
more  tliitii  onu  year.  Kained  nearly  one  hundrt'd  aulxirdinatu  Loual  Uniona,  and  it  haa  been  largely 
enabud  to  aclili^vo  ihi^  ruinitrkably  ritpid  growth  l'/  tbe  aMMlNtaiice  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Carpestera, 
tbo  Taiiora.  thu  Cigar  Mnkera  and  othur  alHIiHted  I'liioiiHof  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  thus 
furnlahlng  another  proof,  if  any  further  proofa  were  ueeded  by  Uuluu  men,  that  "in  uulou  there  la 
trenglh." 

We  aaiert  that  it  ta  the  duty,  aa  It  la  alao  the  plain  interest,  of  all  werking  people  to  organize  aa 
such,  mt*ut  ill  couiiHcl,  ami  take  practical  atepa  to  eti'cct  the  unity  of  the  working  «.laas,  sa  an  india- 
penaahle  preliminary  to  any  auuooaafiil  attempt  to  eliminate  the  evils  of  which  we.  aaaclaaa,  ho  bitterly 
and  Juatly  complain.  That  this  much  deaired  unity  baa  urvur  been  achieved  ia  owing  in  a  great 
meaauru  t<i  the  non-recogiiitini  of  thu  autonomy,  or  tite  riglit  of  aelf-governmei't,  of  the  aeveral 
tradea.  The  American  Kuduratiun  of  l.<il>or,  however,  avoida  the  fatal  rock  on  which  prevloua  organ- 
izationa.  haviag  almilar  alum,  have  aplit,  by  simply  keeping  ia  view  tbia  fundamental  principle,  as  a 
landmark  which  none  but  the  nioal  Infatuated  would  have  ever  lost  Night  of. 

Tbe  rapid  and  steady  vrowth  of  the  American  federation  of  LaUir,  ariaing  from  the  afflliatinn  of 
previously  iaolated,  together  with  newly-formed.  National  Uniona;  tbe  catabliahment  of  local  uaions 
of  various  trades  and  callings  where  none  licfuru  exiatcd  ;  tbe  ai>oiilaiieous  formation  o<  Federal 
Labor  Uniona,  compused  of  wage-workers  following  vuriuua  tradta  in  placea  where  there  are  too  few 
persons  employed  at  any  particular  one  to  allow  tbe  formation  of  Local  I  hIoiih  of  thoae  tradea,  thus 
furnishing  valuable  bodiea  of  aiizniariea  and  recruits  to  exlating  uniona  upon  change  of  aboile.  tbia 
steady  growth  ia  gratifying  evidence  of  the  appreciation  of  tbe  toiicra  of  tliis  broa<l  land  of  a  form 
of  general  organicathm  in  harmony  with  their  iiioxt  cheriahcd  traclltloiia,  and  in  which  each  trade 
ei^oys  the  moat  perfect  liberty  while  securing  the  fulleal  advantages  of  united  action. 

And  now,  in  conciuaion.  you  will  permit  us  to  exproas  our  acknowledgement  of  the  very  moder- 
ate amount  of  governing  which  baa  fallen  to  the  lot  of  thoae  who  have  the  honor  to  addreaa  you. 
While  much  uf  this  good  fortune  must  be  attributed  to  tbe  iiHtiire  of  the  federal  fi  im  of  our  organ- 
ization, our  task  has  been  Immeasurably  lightened  by  the  a>Hiatance  uf  a  Ixxiy  of  organizers,  who, 
without  hape  of  reward,  except  the  consciouaneas  of  performing  a  sacrrd  duty  to  their  fellow  work- 
men, have  carried  the  propaganda  of  trade  unioniam  into  the  remotest  pHrls  of  the  Continent.  MiicU 
of  our  burden  baa  lieen  alsoeaaed  by  the  generous  co-operation  of  the  hxcculives  of  National  and  In- 
ternational Uniona.  Ixith  aniliiited  and  unafHIIated,  thn  latter  of  whom  have  doubtless  so  acted  from 

•  conviction  that  within  the  linos  of  tlie  Federation  will  be  fought  to  the  bitter  end  the  faal-ctmiing 

{crand  struggle  l>etween  Capital  and  I^bor,  involving  the  perpetuation  of  tbe  civilization  we  have  ao 
aborioualy  evolvetl.  Deeply  grateful  as  we  are,  for  your  fruternal  rupport,  we  aliould  be  negligent 
of  the  duty  we  owe  to  each  and  all  did  we  not  urge  the  fxical.  .National,  and  International  Uniuus 
who  have  not  yet  Joined  the  ▲merioan  Federation  of  L«bur,  to  do  ao  without  further  delay. 

Tours  fraternally, 

SAMPEL  OOMPERS.  Pritidrnl. 

PANiEL  Mclaughlin, *m(  ricePrtudmt. 

WILLIAM  MARTIN,  Second  Vice- l^etiiletU. 
OABUIKL  EDMONSTON,  Trtaturer. 
P.  J.  HcOOlUB,  Stertlary. 


LABOR 


n  America. 


(MIkIi  or kh  m  I  XHllofi 
IrnH  iirecailoUK  by 
'  tbu  prfiHriil  day. 
»  Imvr  lieaii  DiiMil), 
leritl  •iKralttokUuii. 
il|t  llio  larKeil  |iro- 
llit'  lliiiliu  ofojOTr- 
illitiiamoxt  elHbo- 
I  kuonckt  InUi  telHl 

iopul»r  demand  for 
ftoiuiuiy:  "Whlvk 

le  workinK  people, 

Dry  nature  of  iheir 
e  UiitouH,  rcKurdvd 
;,  liiM  been  ninrvvl- 
every  amergeuoy— 

tn  BKainHt  aaperlor 
ary,  ib«y  are  uMfiil 
II,  of  tlic  liiuviialila 
lie  liiiliertuiljMun- 
(li««tlllinttuni<rall 
iruUe  orKaiilsHliutia 

evoted  of  ■«,  whrn 
ALL  lUHy.  And  Die 
I  certainly  be  more 

if  exerli'ii  in  fHVor 
I  biu),  wittiln  H  lltllu 

It  haa  bvvn  larKVly 
hood  of  CurpeulerH, 
Htion  «f  Labor.thua 

I  "in  uiiiuu  there  la 

lople  to  organize  aa 
IK  claaa,  aa  an  Indla- 
uiaclaits,  HO  bitterly 
Ih  owing  iu  a  great 
lei't,  of  the  several 
livh  urevioUH  urgan- 
sntal  principle,  aa  « 

om  the  affiliation  of 
uent  of  local  iiaiona 
irmatluu  tit  Federal 
ire  there  are  too  few 
>f  llioHe  trades,  thua 
:>ange  of  aboile.  thla 
■oad  land  of  a  form 
n  wbiub  each  trade 
tion. 

,  of  the  very  moder- 
lur  to  HddrCHH  you. 
f<  int  of  uur  orgnn- 
of  organizers,  who, 

II  their  fellow  work- 
lie  Continent.  MiicU 
9of  National  and  lii- 
ibtleas  fco  actvd  (runt 
I'lid  the  fartMiniiiiK 
ilizHtioti  we  have  no 
xliould  be  negligent 
iiternatlonal  tiiioiia 
iher  delay. 


ilrnt. 

■'tr»l  Vice-PrttidmL 

I  Vie0-Pretithnl. 

Fnaturcr, 


.'%«»»S«.- 


ITA   17224 


.!,*; 


INSTRUCTIONS 
How  to  Form  a  Federal  Labor  Union  or  a  Local  Union. 


Ist— Unions  may  be  formed  of  persons  Tvorking  at  any  trade  or  calling,  or  they  may 
be  composed  of  persons  working  at  different  or  varied  callings.  The  latter  are  called 
"Federal  Labor  Unions." 

2d — Any  person  who  desires  to  organize  a  Union  of  any  trade  will,  by  application 
to  this  office,  aa  above,  be  informed  of  the  address  of  the  chief  officer  of  that  trade  ;  bnt 
should  there  be  no  Greneral  Union  of  that  trade  or  calling,  or  should  it  be  the  intention  to 
form  a  Federal  Labor  Union,  he  will  be  furuitihed  with  all  necessary  documents  and  in- 
formation free  of  charge. 

3d — Any  nnmbei  of  wage-workers,  not  less  than  seven,  of  either  sex,  can  obtain  a 
Certificate  of  Affiliation  (charier). 

4t,h — To  organize  :  Call  a  meeting  and  read  the  printed  appeal  on  page  48  of  this 
pamphlet,  also  these  instructions.  Proceed  at  once  to  elect  officers.  Apply  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  American  Federation  of  Lab<'r,  at  this  office,  as  above,  for  a  Certificate  of 
Affiliation,  and  enclose  $5.00  for  the  nece&siky  fee.  which  will  be  returned,  in  full,  if  the 
application  be  refused,  ^.'end  the  fee  by  Post  Office  Money  Older.  8en'!\  also  a  list  of 
names  and  residences  of  the  Officers  and  Ciiaiter  members  of  your  Union. 

5th— With  the  Certificate  of  Affiliation  a  full  working  outfit  for  the  new  Union  will 
be  famished,  entitling  its  members  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges,  and  the  Union  to 
a  voice  and  vote  in  the  Annual  Conventionu  o(  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

6th — Every  Union  has  full  charge  of  its  own  funds,  and  is  only  required  to  pay  to  the 
President  of  the  American  Federation  of  Lalx;''  a  per  capita  tax  of  one  quarter  of  one 
cent  per  month,  per  member  in  good  staiuiin^. 

7th — The  American  Federation  of  Iin'>or  rrquires  no  ai^sessments  from  any  of  its 
Unions :  and  guarantees  each  and  every  Union  perfect  autonomy  or  right  of  self-govern- 
ment. 

IN  UNION  THEPEIS.STRENGTH. 

PRICE  LIST  OF  SUPPLIES. 

Charter  Outfit  (Seal  not  included), $5  00 

Seal  and  press  (all  complete), 4  00 

Charter  Outfit  consists  of  one  (1)  Charter;  two  (2)  Manuals  of  Common  Pro- 
cednre — giving  directions  for  opening  and  closing  meeting,  installation  of 
officers,  initiation  of  members,  etc.;  seven  (7)  Certificates  of  Membership — for 
framing;  seven  (7)  Constitutions  (A.  F.of  L.);  one  (1)  Ode  Card  for  each  member, 
one  (1^  quire  ot  Official  Note  Paper. 

EXTRAS. 

Duplicate  of  Charter,  . 1  00 

Certificate  of  Membership,  per  dozen, 1  00 

*Trade  Union  Pamphlet,  48  pages,  per  dozen, 75 

Official  Note  Paper,  pen  dozen, 25 

Ode  Cards,  per  dozen, 25 

Travelling  Cards,  per  dozen,  .    .                      25 

Constitutions  (A.  F.  of  L.),  per  dozen, 25 

Working  Cards,  per  hundreid, 50 

Extra  "Manuals,"  each  copy, •  .  25 

Note  —The  above  articles  will  be  supplied  only  when  the  requisite  amount  of  cash 
accompanies  the  order.  Otherwise  the  order  will  not  be  recognized.  All  suppliestent 
by  us  have  the  postage  prepaid,  or  express  charges  paid  in  advance. 

Address,  Samuel  Gomikbb,  171  East  9lst  Street,  New  York  City. 

*  This  psmphlet  will  be  sold  to  Trade  Unions  and  Lalyir  OrganicatioDS  in  wholMde  Iota,  at  the 
nte  of  Five  Dollars  for  one  hundred  copies.  expreBsage  p4id. 

0.  J.  MiUaHEII  «  CO.,  P.INTERS,  410  IIIMIIT  (T,  PWU. 


■.mtmnmv 


^■- 


ITA   17224 


cal  Union. 


ing,  or  they  may 
la  Iter  are  called 

1,  by  application 
'  that  trade  ;  bnt 
)  the  intention  to 
uumenta  and  in- 

Bx,  can  obtain  a 

]  page  48  of  this 
•ply  to  the  Presi- 
-  a  Certificate  of 
>d.  in  full,  if  the 
en^.  also  a  list  of 
n. 

new  Union  will 
od  the  Union  to 
I  of  Labor. 

red  to  pay  to  thci 
e  quarter  of  one 

from  any  of  its 
it  of  self-govern- 


ll 


$5  00 
4  00 


lonPro- 
ktion  of 
lip — for 
lember, 


1  00 

1  00 

75 

.   .   .   .   .  25 

.....  25 

25 

25 

60 

25 

I  amount  of  cash 
A.11  supplies  tent 

8W  York  City, 
olaiale  lots,  at  the 


I 

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1 

• 

• 

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• 

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